Not exactly who I was hoping to ring in the New Year with . . . .

Ruby has been throwing up for a couple of days,

now I've got it.

Flash Cakes

While I sift through the bazillion photos I took over Christmas,
let's take a look at a treat I was served on my California trip.
My brother-in-law introduced me to "Flash Cakes".

It's pretty much a kind of
homemade doughnut/powdered sugar snack cake
that he and his buddies used to make when they were
supposed to be working at a local fast food shop.

 All you need to get started is a can of buttermilk biscuits
and I was told to emphasize-
they MUST BE BUTTERMILK biscuits
and a pan to fry them in.
Here is Josh demonstrating 

how you must flatten each biscuit before frying -

Then, you pop the flattened biscuits in a pan

and fry them up 'til they are golden brown.

 

 Grab them out and let them rest on a paper towel-lined plate,

while you get a plastic bag and 

some powdered sugar ready for the next step.

Drop each cake into the powdered sugar bag 

and shake it up until fully coated.

That's all there is to it!

Throw them on a plate 

 and serve them up to the eagerly awaiting crowd.

I was worried they would taste too much like a doughnut,
(which I'm not a big fan of)

but these freshly made cakes were a delight!

Merry Christmas!

Californ I A

In case you didn't know,
I recently took a quick sister trip out to San Diego.

Brooke and I hopped a cheap Allegiant flight from Fargo to L.A.

to spend a few days with Megan and her family.

 I took so many stinking pictures that I'll have to 

break my trip up into more than one post.

Our first morning there, 

we walked the few blocks from Megan's house to the beach.

Once we arrived,

Brooke and I sat down to enjoy a delicious Acai 

fruit & granola bowl we picked up along the way -

at this cute little coffee shop.

 This is the view we got to enjoy while we ate.

Once we were all full of food and coffee,

 we set off to explore.

Not much else to say about that, so enjoy the pics!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 More on San Diego later!

Cookie Party

Last week, I hosted a cookie exchange party.

All I had to do was make a pile of these

and in return, I got all of these -

What a great idea, huh?

 And seriously, how cute are these?

 It was a great excuse to get together with the ladies
and the kids loved the cookies!

I think we'll make it an annual event!

Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake

Here's an easy dinner bake for the busy holiday season.

(another pinter-inspiration)
Check out the ingredients -

All you've got to do is put some Rigatoni on to boil,

and cook up some chicken, garlic, and onion on the stove.

Dump the diced tomatoes, spinach,
and cream cheese into a large bowl.

 Then, stir in your chicken, onion, garlic, and Rigatoni noodles

and mix well.

Spread the mixture into a baking dish and smother in mozzarella.

 After baking, it looks like this -

 and more importantly,

 it tastes delicious!

Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake

8 oz uncooked rigatoni

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 c. chopped onion

2 cloves garlic

1 (10 oz) pack frozen spinach, thawed

3 c. cubed, cooked chicken breasts

1 (14.5 oz) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, drained

1 (8 oz) container Philadelphia chive & onion cream cheese 

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 & 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Prepare rigatoni according to package directions. Cook cubed chicken, onion,and garlic in a frying pan with olive oil.Drain chopped spinach well, pressing between paper towels. Mix all cooked ingredients in a large bowl.  Spoon mixture into baking dish and sprinkle evenly with shredded mozzarella cheese.  Bake covered at 375 for 30 minutes; uncover & bake 15 more minutes or until bubbly. 

Kitchen Window

Forever ago, I told you I grabbed some windows from the farm.

Here's what I did with one of them.

 I set it up above my cupboards 

with a few other treasures to spice up the kitchen.

I don't like too much clutter up there,

so this was the perfect solution.

A little bit of interest, but not too busy.

 I haven't found a home for the other window yet,

but I've seen a million projects I could do with it on Pinterest.

We'll see what happens to it.