Goodbye Sweet Patsy Cline

Yesterday, we lost our sweet Patsy Cline unexpectedly. She was part of our family and we will miss her terribly. We will miss her... running laps around the coffee table, sneaking off with our socks, curling up like a cinnamon roll on the La-Z-Boy, tap dancing every morning on the hardwood floor next to our bed, greeting us, excited-as-can-be, when we come home.

Please forgive me if I'm slow to post or respond to your comments at this time. It's so much quieter around our house now. It will take some time for me to adjust and get back into a blog routine.

Patsy was with me, when I started this blogventure (hence the name). She always managed to sneak into my shots, whenever I was shooting for a post. She was very curious about my projects, as you can see...

My Two Dollar Find

I found this little cast-iron-majig at a garage sale for 2 bucks.

It has two hanging baskets, I would assume for plants.

I gave it a pretty new coat with a some glossy teal spray paint...

Brussels Sprouts with Sriracha Honey and Lime

Don't be afraid! They're just tiny, little cabbages. 

Ryan was unsure when I first uttered the words: Brussels Sprouts. But as soon as I mentioned that I would be dousing them in Sriracha, he was more than willing to try 'em. And they turned out to be outrageously good! Now I can't wait to drizzle other veggies with this Sriracha honey lime sauce. It almost tastes like an eggroll, minus all those extra calories.

If you have non-believers-in-Brussels-sprouters in your house, try this one out on them. You just might make them believe...

Asian Mexican Fusion

That's right we're mixing it up. A few nights ago for dinner we combined Sriracha Fried Rice with Chorizo and Asian Marinated Fajitas. Asian and Mexican flavors collided and Ryan and I could not get enough of the leftovers. They were a match made in heaven! Simply delicious. 

This fried rice uses Sriracha, which Ryan loves. It's a spicy Thai hot sauce, very tasty...very tricky to spell and pronounce. Just one more reason that Ryan and I were made for each other: we both love spicy food. I mean burn-your-lips-off spicy. I feel bad for those we love, who come over for dinner. We try to tone it down, but it's difficult (especially for me). I'd rather it be too spicy than bland.

BUT... before you run away, let me just say that this fried rice is not spicy (at least not to us, but I do suppose our taste buds may have burnt off by now). It's got an incredible amount of flavor and a very subtle heat. If you're still worried about the spice level, just nix the serrano peppers (replace with green onions for color) and reduce the Sriracha to 1 Tbsp.  

Caramel Pretzel Brownies with White Chocolate Mousse

*UPDATE: I won Iron Baker! Thank you SO much to all that voted, you all are the best! And thanks to Melissa @ 20 Going on 80 for creating and hosting the event!

Go vote for your favorite entry in Iron Baker!

Hopefully it will be this handsome little devil below: 

Gooey Brownies with a Caramel Pretzel Crust and White Chocolate Frangelico Mousse

I'm entering these little sweet and salty treats in the Iron Baker Challenge over at 20 Going on 80. The secret ingredients were white chocolate and caramel. Head over there and check out all of the other fabulous entries that others came up with, then cast your vote for your favorite (voting is closed)!

I adore sweet and salty combinations! And I was so impressed with myself that I pulled this off. It was my first time making caramel and mousse from scratch. Sure I used a box mix for brownies, but so what. In doing so I saved time, energy, and dirty dishes. Plus I think that boxed brownies taste delicious, so I just jazzed them up with a buttery caramel pretzel crust. Perfection!

Since the mousse needs to chill for awhile, that's your starting point.

Melt some white chocolate in a double-boiler along with a little water and Frangelico liqueur. It smells heavenly. Set aside and let cool.

Whisk cream until soft peaks form. I started with an electric whisk, then decided a hand whisk was better. Fold cream into cooled chocolate mixture. Then whisk egg whites and fold in as well. Now stick that mousse baby in the fridge and let it chill out.

I Wanna Marry You Cookies

You may be wondering about the name. I know I did when I first came across this recipe. Well, it turns out that these cookies are just sooooo delicious, that anyone you bake them for, will want to propose to you. You can read about it here in the cook's note.

Not only are these cookies addictive and delicious, but they also dirty less dishes. That's right folks, these cookies only require one pot! The way to a girl's heart (at least this girl's heart) is less dishes to wash.

I love that these cookies are filled with both white and milk chocolate chips. And I was excited to see that the recipe calls for cinnamon, since I always add cinnamon anyway when I make chocolate chip cookies (or waffles...or pancakes...or lasagna, wait maybe not lasagna).