dear february

a-a-ahem.boy this is going to be tough.
You see February,I don't like you. Nope. Not really. At all.
Because I just can't seem to figure out what you are good for. What is it that you do, February? Please, enlighten me. And don't say Valentines Day.....because that is one sorry excuse for a holiday, if you ask me. February, you make me realize, that I do in fact, miss summer. You make me long for

Candy Centered Chocolate Cookies

I have become quite the cookie monster as of late.

I never really thought I would turn out this way, but one by one, the most amazing cookies seem to be finding their way into my mouth, which sends me hunting for their recipes.

I work at a school {in the Development Office of this great place}.

It is a special place.

There are a lot of amazing (and important) reasons why it is so wonderful, but this might not be known as one of them.

Every Wednesday, parents bring treats for the faculty and staff.  Yep, that's right, every Wednesday.  It is quite the treat.

These showed up one day and I have to admit, I would have easily passed by a chocolate cookie, but a coworker let me in on the secret that there was a candy center.

That was enough to intrigue and one bite in, I knew I had to have the recipe.

First bite... a little bit of chocolate and crunchy pecans.  Second bite, you find yourself smack dab in the middle of a Reese's (or Rolo) and oh, are you happy to be there.

From my little kitchen to yours... Enjoy.

Candy Centered Chocolate Cookies
Recipes

*dough needs to be refrigerated for an hour before baking
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans
35 Rolos or Reese's Peanut Buttercups (or a mix)

parchment paper

Step by Step
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Beat butter until creamy and fluffy, gradually add sugar and eggs, beat well.  

In a separate bowl add flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture.  Add vanilla and pecans.  Cover and refrigerate for an hour.

Using a tablespoon, roll balls of cookie dough.  Smash into a small circular disk.  Place desired chocolate candy on the middle of each disk.  Wrap cookie dough around candy, covering candy completely and roll into a ball.  Add a little extra dough to cover the candy if necessary. 

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Place dough balls 2 inches apart.  Bake for 8 minutes, until edges are set.  

Makes 35 cookies.

My favorite was the Reese's, but given the choice, I will always be a chocolate & peanut butter girl. 

minor adjustments

aaaahhhh the weekend. 

Gone again too quickly.
This weekend was funny.
You see, Robby and I had a Super Date planned.
We were to hit up my bi-annual doctors appointment in San Francisco (par-tay!), and then spend the night/day exploring Big Basin State Park, while the kids were busy at Grandma's.
I had been dreaming of wandering though the Redwoods for months....and just TWO days before we were

Lemon meringue pie

Återigen har jag vanskött bloggen.
Jag försöker komma till skott och faktiskt baka, men jag når aldrig riktigt ända fram. Det finns för mycket annat att göra.
Så när jag lyckades slänga ihop denna citronmarängpajen förra veckan, två dagar innan jag skulle åka till Stockholm kände jag mig väldigt nöjd. Jag tror jag behövde få något annat att tänka på än det jag faktiskt skulle göra. Det är nog det bästa med att baka tycker jag. Att man måste fokusera på det man håller på med just då. Man kan liksom inte stå och oroa sig för andra saker. Nej, det funkar inte. Det är lite som att sova för mig, vilket jag måste säga att jag är riktigt bra på att göra.

Jag vet att jag har varit lite slarvig med att skriva ut mina recept på svenska den senaste tiden.. Jag kommer såklart fortsätta skriva mina recept på svenska, men kanske inte precis alla.. Är det någon som vill ha receptet översatt, bara säg till!

Receptet är delvis lånat från den fantastiska bloggen Whisk Kid!



In English:
Once again I have completely neglected the blog.
I can't seem to get things done. There are too many other things to tend to. I needed to get things off my mind last week before I went to Stockholm, so I made this lemon meringue pie. It felt good. That's probably the best thing about baking; to be able to take things off your mind for a while and just be present in the moment (so you don't mess things up). It's kind of like sleeping, which I must say I'm pretty good at.
Recipe adapted from the amazing Whisk Kid!







Citronmarängpaj

Pajskal
2 1/3 dl mjöl
1/2 tsk salt
1 msk florsocker
110 gram kallt smör
2-3 msk kallt vatten

Blanda mjöl, florsocker och salt i en skål. Använd händerna eller en matberedare för att blanda i smöret. Tillsätt vatten bara så att degen precis går ihop. Lägg degen i en bit plastfolie och lägg i kylen, minst 30 minuter.

Ta fram degen 5-10 minuter innan den ska kavlas ut.
När degen är redo, pudra lite mjöl över arbetsytan. Kavla ut degen i en cirkel stor nog att täcka en 20 cm (diameter) stor pajform. Klä formen med degen och låt gärna lite deg hänga över kanterna. Gör några hål i bottnen med en gaffel. Lägg in formen i frysen.

Värm ugnen till 200 C. När ugnen är varm, klä formen med degen i med antingen bakplåtspapper eller aluminiumfolie och fyll det med bönor eller ris (okokt). Grädda cirka 20 minuter och ta sedan bort bakplåtspapper/foliet och bönorna/riset och grädda ytterligare 5-10 minuter tills pajskalet är gyllenbrunt. Ta ut ur ugnen och låt svalna.

Citronfyllning
4 äggulor, rumsvarma
2 1/3 dl socker
2 msk mjöl
3 msk majsstärkelse
1/4 tsk salt
3 1/2 dl vatten
2 citroner, juice och skal
25 gram mjukt smör

Värm ugnen till 175 grader. Lägg äggulorna i en stor skål och vispa dem lätt. Lägg socker, mjöl, majsstärkelse och salt i en kastrull. Rör i vatten, citronjuice och citronskal. Värm under omrörning tills blandningen når kokpunkten. Rör i smöret. Ta bort från värmen och häll ungefär 1 dl av den varma blandningen över äggulorna. Blanda väl och häll sedan i ägguleblandningen i kastrullen till resten av smeten. Sätt kastrullen på värmen igen och rör sedan tills blandningen är riktigt tjock. Ta bort från värmen och häll fyllningen i pajskalet.

Maräng
4 äggvitor, rumstemperatur
6 msk socker

I en stor och ren skål, vispa äggvitorna till de börjar skumma. Tillsätt sockret lite i taget tills marängen är tjock. Skålen ska kunna hållas uppochned utan att den glider ut. Bred ut marängen över citronfyllningen. Grädda pajen ytterligare 10 minuter. ANvänd en gasolbrännare om du vill ha mer färg på marängen.

speaking of.....

me and my tower of ruby snapWow!
Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes this week!
I loved reading them all.....thank you!I had a great day with my little family and we are all still full of our favorite pizza and cookies.

Speaking of full, we have been eating a lot of steel cut oats (I was never that in to them because they took so long to cook, and our mornings are crazy......and then I

It's Raining Ducks

My boy came home from his grandparents place with an incubator.  Our beautiful neighbours Romano and Philomena had some duck eggs.  Romano felt the duck had sat for far too long and the eggs were "past it".  He was about to turf them. Mitch asked for the eggs and away he went.  Setting up the incubator, monitoring the temperature to the exact 10th degree - my goodness I thought he was a fusspot. Nevertheless, he persevered till he felt the temp was correct and away went his little experiment.  I really never expected anything to eventuate.

Monitoring day in day out for five days; a crack.  The air was filled with excitement as he kept checking the progress of the cheeping sounds coming from within the egg.  Nicole and I were given our "orders" in case the duckling hatched whilst he was at work.  Sure enough, he was at work.  Nicole shone the torch religiously to see the hatching in action. A limb tore through the shell. She called me. I came running. The limb had gone back in.  Sure enough, the little blighter was on it's way.

By the time Mitch came home, he was a mother, perhaps I mean father, well maybe nurturer would be best; after all he nurtured this cheeping little creature to life. After a long chat on her facebook with over 30 replies, Nicole considered all the suggestions for a name.  Fran it would be.

Nicole and one day old "Fran"

Fran was adored for a whole day and a half.  She chirped  incessantly until two days later she was joined by another two siblings.  Three ducklings quickly turned into nine.  There were no more names after Fran - I think the novelty wore off quickly. The newspaper changes, the replacing of water, the topping up of food and the "ducky" smell was taking it's toll.  Mitch took them down to Philomena and Romano's.  They were adopted immediately by another mother duck.  It was amazing apparently - I didn't see it.  She took to them like a "duck to water".  Happy ending.

Huddled and Sleeping

Mitch has had a 100% success rate so far.  There are still some eggs left to hatch, but they will be going straight from incubator to neighbour.  It's been a lucky week for duckies.

I should mention, this was Mitchell's experiment. What he really wants to have a 'crack' at are chickens.  The eggs have been ordered and they're on the way.   With Mitch at the helm, his "chicks" will be metaphorically speaking, very lucky duckies.

                                                ❄❄❄

☛ If you can spare the time please read the post where I ask you to kindly support us to  Help Save Numinbah Valley

....................................

parties: A Baby Shower.

Oh boy, do I have something fun to share with you.  Last weekend, I had the privilege of helping to cater a baby shower in Dallas and oh, what a privilege it is when you are working with friends who put so much love and work into the party.  My friends Abby and Katie (with the wonderful help of sister Hannah, mother Karen and Katie's mom Barbara and her wonderful home) threw a lovely shower for Abby's sister, Emily.  These girls know how to throw a party, but more importantly, how to decorate. I happen to meet sweet Emily this summer on our trip to Italy and let's just say that I could have never imagined I would be helping with this darling shower for a baby that will be born exactly nine months from the week I met her {Oh, Italia}.  I put together a few shots of the food, but every detail of the party is worth mentioning so here it goes...

(scroll to the bottom for notes about the menu)

This January Shower was a mix of comfort food + bright pops of color.

The photo booth captured everyone's predictions as to whether a baby girl or baby boy was in the works.  The mom to be is unsure, but grandmothers have good instincts and this one is going with boy. 

There was a table with packets of sweet peas for guests to plant for favors and a jar to shower the mom-to-be with advice. 

And by the end of a lovely shower, the three of us had a little fun with the photo booth. 

Menu Notes...

• Click here for the tomato basil soup.  
• The grilled cheese were made with buttermilk sourdough bread from Central Market with sharp cheddar cheese and olive oil to crisp the bread. 
• Click here for Avocado Chicken Salad. 
• Click here for Pesto Pasta Salad recipe.  I substituted these marinated mozzarella balls for the feta ... not sure I will ever go back to feta. It was delicious.
• Click here for chocolate chip cookie recipe.
• And the Oatmeal Cake Cupcakes with buttercream frosting were amazing! I am going to do a little begging to see if I can get the grandmother to be to share this perfect recipe.  

two niner

disclaimer: I started this as a simple quick post. and then it just kept going. and going and going.
So I wrote it out for ME.....but you can read it too, if you have too much time on your hands, a snack to enjoy, and something to keep you hydrated.


Short version: today is my birthday.  I like being outside. 29 is going to be awesome.


me. a few weeks back when charly and I were headed up up

"Kanye" Make Tasty Hummus!

If I said "Kanye West" to you, would you know who or what I was talking about?  Admittedly it was raining on our tin roof making it difficult to hear, when my daughter said his name.  I replied with "can I what...?"

We had just come home after spending a couple of relaxing hours at the farm.  Feeling calm and refreshed, a leisurely evening watching the Australian Open would cap our lovely day.

About 6.30pm Nicka tore out of her room with an OMG look on her face. Sorry dear, but I've never heard of Kanye West. It was the Big Day Out, the day would finish with the highlight act being this Kanye West.  Nicka had missed calls only to find out she had half an hour to get to destination xxxx, meet up with her photographer friend, get to the Big Day Out and meet with Kanye West's first cousin Tony Williams. A private photography session in Kanye West's dressing room had been arranged.

"Have fun, drive safely" I yelled out to her as she flew out the door.  Mitch looked at me and said "I swear mum, when that girl was born she was touched with a rainbow".  I agree with him.  She has had a lucky streak in life. But then she was born on a day filled with nines. Would you believe she turned 9 years old on 19/9/1999?  What can I say - she's lucky!

Bottom line, she returned home the next day with a totally satisfied look on her face.  I detached myself from the computer, turned around and listened to the events of that evening.  She showed me her VIP backstage pass. Okay; nice (actually I wasn't that impressed - now if we were talkin' country singer John Williamson then I'd straighten up).

I hear how she and her friend Brooke watched the whole show with the family and friends of Kanye West right in front of the stage.  Apparently all the media and photographers were ushered away when his show started and when security came up to Brooke and Nicka to move them, Tony said 'leave those girls, they're with us".  And so here was my Nicka, with her friend and Kanye West's relatives and friends in front of the stage with a barrier and literally thousands and thousands of fans behind them.  Even I had to laugh at that.

She later meets Kanye West in his dressing room.  There is an after party at Versace Palazzo and she and friend Brooke are invited. They go. The girls spend time talking to Tony Williams; he's after shots for an album cover.  Brooke mentions Nicole's European Adventure photographs to him.  He pops onto her facebook, peruses them and says to Nicole "you didn't take those".  Sounds like he was impressed. Gee, thanks Tony, so I'm not just a biased mother after all!!  He looks over her other photographic works and he even leaves a comment on her facebook page.

Enough said.  It'll be interesting to see what may eventuate. Such is life with my Nicole. It's unpredictable and just when I could murder her (not the tidiest person on the block), I sit here bemused. Earlier that day I yelled at the mountain of washing she dumped in my laundry basket, watched as she later rode the new quad bike up and over the hills on our farm - stopping and patting cows along the way and later in the evening she finds herself in Kanye West's dressing room with Kanye dancing 1/2 a metre away from her. It's all too much!  A reality check please.  How about some humble hummus - with a twist of course - none of that plain stuff please; after all, we've been touched with fame.

Hummus with Caramelised Onions.

230gm cooked chickpeas (I cook heaps & keep small bags in the freezer, canned is fine but please rinse & drain well)
1 very large onion
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cloves purple garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
warm water
salt & cracked pepper
extra olive oil for frying onion

• slice the onion; place in frypan with approx. 3 tablespoons olive oil; fry slowly for about 20 minutes or till onion has softened.  Increase heat a little; watch till the onion browns nicely - not blackened - add about 1 teaspoon of sugar.  Cook for a minute or so; set aside; allow to cool. 
• in a small processor add all the listed ingredients including the onion except for warm water.  Process well.  The mixture should look pasty and may be a little dry.  Add about 3 tbsp water. Process. Keep adding water and perhaps a little more oil or lemon juice if desired till you reach a nice spreadable consistency.  Be mindful the more water you add, the less intense will be the flavour.  
• taste your end result; add more salt, pepper and more sugar if desired, but I found the caramelised onions added a beautiful sweetness to the dish and  no further sweetness was required. 

I'll admit right here that I've actually never been a fan of hummus.  I eat it because I know it's good for me.  I find canned chickpeas are always more bitter than chickpeas I soak and cook myself. Not sure why, but that's my experience. Some hummus that I've eaten has a bitter aftertaste which I really dislike.  

I thought I'd  try a sweet onion touch to the recipe to see what a difference that may make. I can't tell  you how delicious it is. No one in my family will eat hummus.  Invariably I always have leftover that's been sitting in the fridge for too long which the chickens happily devour.  They won't be devouring this lot.  I demolished it in two sittings.  It was absolutely the face lift that my hummus needed.  I won't make it any other way from now on.  I think I just made hummus 'famous'.  At least it will be if Nicole has anything to do with it!

advertise with the little red house!

I love ads.source, source, source
I would love to have YOUR ad here in The Little Red House!
If you have something you'd like to advertise, The Little Red Housewould love to help promote you!Artists, bloggers, makers-of-awesome things, designers, photographers, shop owners, writers, entrepreneurs....whatever you may be, we'd love to have you!
Please email me sheenajibson at gmail for rates for

a winter favorite

Brussels Sprouts. a favorite? really?yes!Teeny green adorable members of the cabbage family. They tend to be one of the more snubbed veggies out there in veggieland, but only because you've been eating them wrong.....these are a big time favorite around here--even with my kids! We eat them often in the winter months--they are very versatile and and contain a healthy dose of fiber, and more than

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs w/ blue cheese dressing

You've got two opportunities in the very near future to kill it with these meatballs.

This is the ultimately perfect football watching food.  Superbowl... check.

And if you are looking for someone to fall in love with you on Valentine's (or stay in love with you) these will do it.  They are that serious.  Perfect appetizer.

Back in my high school days, I had a short run of being really into wings.  I loved the taste of the barely spicy tangy chicken wing dipped in cool blue cheese dressing.  And then one day, I stared right at that wing and imagined the little chicken I was gnawing on.  It was over, right then and there.  Couldn't do it anymore.

 

And let's get real, if you can get past the idea of gnawing between those bones, you still don't look pretty doing it.  Enter these mini buffalo chicken meatballs that have all that good flavor without the carnage.

 

FYI... Mr. Hungry has updated his favorite thing I have ever ever made to this right here... I told you it was serious.

From my little kitchen to yours... Enjoy.

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Adapted from Glamour Magazine February 2012
Recipe Notes
I used nonfat greek yogurt in place of the sour cream because I had it on hand.  It makes for a healthier dressing, but if want the full richness of a blue cheese dressing, use sour cream.  If you plan on doubling or tripling a recipe for a big party, you do not need to double the dressing.  One batch is plenty.  Use leftover dressing on a wedge salad.  If you are unfamiliar with ground chicken, it can be found in most grocery stores near the ground turkey or ground beef.  You could also have a butcher freshly grind a few boneless, skinless chicken breasts if you cannot find it anywhere.  Leftover meatballs can be stored in the refrigerator and reheated in the oven or microwave.
Ingredients
1/2 stick (4 tbsp.) butter
1/4 cup Frank's RedHot hot sauce
1 lb. ground chicken
1 tsp. salt
1/2 stalk celery, minced
1 large egg
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
For the dressing
1 cup sour cream (or nonfat greek yogurt)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
(makes 2 1/2 cups of dressing)
Step by Step
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  In a small pot, combine butter and hot sauce over low heat, whisking until butter is melted.  Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.  Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Place remaining chicken meatball ingredients in a bowl and mix by hand, adding the hot sauce butter mixture as well.  Make sure the ingredients are combined throughout.  Using a teaspoon, roll the meatball mixture into marble sized balls.  Place balls in rows on the parchment paper.  Roast until firm and cooked through, about 15 minutes.  Allow the meatballs to cool for 5 minutes.

To make dressing, combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl and whisk until blended.   Refrigerate until ready to use.

For an extra kick, drizzle extra hot sauce onto meatballs.  Serve with dressing and extra celery.

Makes 65 mini meatballs.

weekend indulgence

well, almost weekend. my brain kicks in to weekend mode come Thursday afternoon....I can't help it!
Let's talk about cheese. And chocolate. chocolate and cheese!Two of my very favorite things to eat. and talk about. and dream about. and eat.
Two things that also, tend to get a bad rap--especially this time of year, with all of the resolutions that have yet to be broken. They are sworn off, thrown

Ginger-Molasses Skillet Cake

“I love snow for the same reason I love Christmas: It brings people together while time stands still. Cozy couples lazily meandered the streets and children trudged sleds and chased snowballs. No one seemed to be in a rush to experience anything other than the glory of the day, with each other, whenever and however it happened”  

― Rachel Cohn, Dash & Lily's Book of Dares

There I was, longing for something sweet. Whatever I was going to make had to be easy, I didn't have the energy. It couldn't involve many ingredients, I hadn't been to the store in at least a week, probably two. The silent snow falling outside made me long for something homey and warm.

  

the batter

I walked over to my cookbook shelf. Opened one book, flipped through and put it down, too fussy, I concluded. Picked up another, no success. Just as I was about to give up, I picked up Great Desserts a neglected cookbook from 1989, that I probably scored from a thrift store, but who can remember? Almost immediately I turned to page 75, Ginger-Molasses Skillet Cake, under the chapter called Old Favorites. The picture was everything I was looking for. Homey for sure, along with ginger and molasses, I knew I had found what I was longing for.

before going in the oven

just out of the oven

I got to work. This was a fast and easy undertaking. I think searching for my molasses in the pantry took me the longest. This batter was finished just as my oven came to temperature. An almost effortless cake indeed.

This picture was taken on Wednesday 1/18, the bird is sitting on snow accumulated on the deck rail. The other photos below were taken on Tuesday. Overnight we had record breaking snow fall.

But what would it taste like? Would it be worth dirtying the cast iron pan along with a saucepan and a bowl? Should I have faith that I will enjoy it and whip up some cream to accompany my cake now? Yes, I determined. I should whip some cream because I always have a use for freshly whipped cream.

my little guy,  Lucien enjoying the snow

The cake emerged from the oven, the halls of my home wafting with warm spice. I placed the cake on the rack to cool. The smell was intoxicating. I waited all of 5 minutes before indulging in the tempting cake. I took a bite. Heaven, I thought. Moist cake rich with the comforting flavors of molasses and ginger. The edges crackly and chewy from the iron pan. For the second bite, I removed the cream from the fridge and added a dollop. The cream melting in my cake was a perfect addition, a fluffy and luscious element to offset my spicy cake.

birds in the snow

Life was good.

The End.

Our deck Wednesday morning

On Wednesday I had to push away snow to get to their birdhouse. This picture was taken before I filled their food.

The original recipe calls for a 12 inch cast iron pan. I used that size and the cake is on the short side, it's fine, but if given a choice I would use a 9 or10 inch pan for a slightly higher cake. If you use a smaller pan, just keep in mind it will take longer to cook. Also a note about the black pepper. I couldn't taste it in this cake. The cake is spicy in a very good way, but I couldn't tell there was black pepper in it. So don't fret about it. But if it scares you go ahead and leave it out.




Ginger Molasses Skillet Cake


this cake was inspired by one from the book, Great Desserts


Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (150 g.) flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3 teaspoons ground ginger

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 cup (150 g.) packed brown sugar, divided

8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

2/3 cup (160 ml) plus 2 Tablespoons molasses

2/3 cup (160 ml) milk

1 tsp vanilla extract


For Topping

powdered sugar-optional

Sweetened freshly whipped cream-optional


Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, 180 degrees Celsius, Gas Mark 4.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder and salt, set aside.

In a medium saucepan add 3/4 cup of the brown sugar, 6 Tablespoons of the butter, and 2/3 cup of molasses, stir over moderate heat until melted and well combined. Add the milk and vanilla, set aside.

Place the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar, the 2 Tablespoons of butter and the 2 Tablespoons of molasses in a 9,10 or 12 inch cast iron skillet. Place the skillet in the oven to melt the butter and heat the skillet. When it's melted stir it and remove from oven (use an oven mitt).

Stir the wet ingredients in the saucepan into the dry ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon just until smooth.

Right before you pour the batter in the skillet, using a brush or the back of a rubber spatula push the bottom glaze up the sides of the pan and distribute it evenly throughout the skillet. Then pour the batter into the skillet and bake for 20-30 minutes (it will take only 20 ish minutes for the 12 inch skillet, it will take longer if you use a 10 inch or slightly smaller pan.), until a toothpick comes out clean. Don't forget to use an oven mitt moving the pan after it's done.

Serve warm from the skillet with freshly whipped sweetened cream (if desired.) And give it a dusting of powdered sugar if you want.

la-la-laundry day

It's everyone's favorite subject......LAUNDRY! Ok maybe not that exciting.....but here's a little something to make it more.....interesting. 
I have been seeing this "recipe" for homemade laundry detergent all over the www, and I finally decided to give it a try. 
You see, the girl has THE fairest, most sensitive skin in all the land. I finally found a laundry soap that I love and doesn't

Veggie Shooters

There is really no room for extras in this kitchen.  Our everyday dishes already have to be housed in the dining area and cabinet space is precious all over this little home. 
So if something is going to make its way in that is not essential, it is going to have to be extremely versatile.  Enter these 3 oz. glasses.  If you throw a party even once every couple of months, these are worth the investment.  The options are endless. 

I can't wait to try these darling milkshakes.  What a perfect way to pass milk and cookies.  The soup options are endless.  Yep, I'm in love and now own two boxes, which comes to a total of 72. 

If you are interested, here is where I got mine and my favorite part is the thin bottom of the glass. They look less like shot glasses and they could go modern or rustic.   If you are not quite ready to make the investment, you could use small clear plastic glasses as well.

Goodbye to the days of camping out over the veggie tray. 
From my little kitchen to yours... Enjoy.

Veggie Shooters with Hummus
Recipe Notes
You can really choose any dip you want for the bottom.  I have found hummus to be the most popular, but ranch dressing works great too.  Plan on about 2 oz. of hummus per glass.  You might have a little leftover, but this will help you not run out. 
Ingredients
Assortment of vegetables, cut into 3-inch skinny strips (bell peppers, celery, carrots, cucumbers)
Hummus, about 2 oz. per glass
Step by Step
Fill a small ziploc bag with hummus and seal.  Cut a small hole in the corner of the bag.  Be careful to not make the hole too big.  Start small... you can always cut more off in you need.  Fill each glass 2/3 full with hummus.  Stick 3 or 4 vegetable strips in each glass.  Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.