Two Different Pumpkins

Last night I had what I thought was a brilliant idea.  This:

 

scone mix

 

plus this:

 

pumpkinnnn

 

could only equal pure deliciousness right?  That scone mix was part of an Easter basket from way back in April, and I thought I had finally found the perfect way to make use of it.  Just add water and bake!  How much easier could it get?  Well apparently my addition of 3/4 cup of pumpkin threw off some things because instead of a slightly sticky ball of dough, I had this mess.

 

uuuuh?

this is not right...

omg what a disaster

 

Literally every ounce of dough stuck to my hands, but I persevered and somehow made the sticky dough into scone like shapes.  I still had no idea how they would taste, but I wasn’t willing to waste my pumpkin.  11 minutes later I had a tray of “scones” that looked something else entirely.

 

rolls?

meh

Obviously I had to try one right away.  I broke it open, watched the steam escape and tentatively took my first bite.  Well hey, at least they don’t taste like crap!  They were however, somewhat bland, and my beloved pumpkin flavor was noticeably absent.

 

are you there pumpkin?

 

They weren’t a total fail, but they weren’t exactly right either.  Now I want to try again from scratch and see if I can really get it right.  Or I might just rely on my tried and true pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe to get me through my pumpkin cravings.  Only time will tell.  After my pumpkin scone somewhat fail, I had to turn around and yell at the other Pumpkin.

 

bad cat!

Look at her, going in for the kill.  Every single leaf in that vase has little kitty bite marks in it.  The best part is she’ll jump up there, wait for me to look at her, and then start gnawing on the plant.  The second I yell at her she’ll jump down, but it’s like she’s waiting to get yelled at.  Why is she such a monster?

 

Grey’s was last night, I really only have one thing to say about that because really I have no idea what happened in the entire episode.  I was too busy swooning over this guy.

omg so hot

Hello Jesse Williams, I see you went to Temple, will you be returning to Philadelphia for a visit any time soon?  Can I take you out for a drink?  Seriously though, the eyes, the abs!  I’m not sure it gets any better. Ok, time to move on before boyfriend gets offended.

I’m wearing my new jeggings today, and I don’t think I want to wear real pants ever again.  Seriously, most comfortable things ever, and they fit inside my boots amazingly and without a struggle.

 

streeeeeeeeetch

 

So yes, if you have been on the lookout for jeggings I highly recommend these from The Limited.  Comfy, dark wash, with real back pockets.  Also, if you buy two pairs of any pant one is $25 off!

As I said yesterday, I’m off to NYC for the weekend after work.  I’m really hoping to meet up with Jacquie while I’m there, maybe on Sunday afternoon? Would any other NYC bloggers/readers be interested?  Let me know!

What is everyone else up to this weekend, anything good?  Have a happy Friday!

 

 

I am not a baker

Happy Saturday everyone!  I hope everyone is enjoying their day so far.  I am insanely jealous of all the ladies out in Chicago at the HLS right now.  It sounds like ya’ll are having a great time so far!  This morning my sister and I woke up somewhat early despite our late night (which I’ll tell you about in a minute) and hit the gym for a workout.  I had an alright run, but was very tired and dehydrated.

• 4.9 miles
• 45 minutes
• 9:11 pace (more like an 8:56 not including my 3 min walk warm-up)

After the gym, we finally made it to the local Athletic store so my sister could buy new shoes.  Her old ones were about ready to fall apart.  She ended up with a really pretty pair of Asics 2140s, and I got a new Nike sports bra and another pair of Nike tempo shorts.  Then it was time to pick the bf up from the train station because he is visiting for the weekend!

Alright, so last night.  My sister and I went out to dinner with our mom to one of our favorite restaurants, JB Dawsons.  They have some of the best ribs, mashed potatoes, and shoestring french fries ever.  For an appetizer we started out with the Crab Dip, which we devoured in about 5 minutes flat.

crab dip

For my main course, I pretty much order the same thing every time I go there.  It’s a giant meal that leaves me with leftovers, which I love.  The Texas Tenders and Rib Combo with mashed potatoes and french fries.

heavenly

chickens

ribbies

fries

taters

I shared a tender with my sis, as well as some mashed potatoes and ribs.  It was delicious and I was so full at the end.  I also ended up bringing most of the ribs home, which I ate for lunch this afternoon.  After dinner, my sister and decided to take on a baking challenge.  Now, as much as I love to cook I am not a baker.  Following a recipe exactly is not my thing, I hate to measure and I hate mixing bowls, but these Oreo Mini Cheesecakes that Julie made the other day looked too good to not attempt.

supplies

all mixed together with crushed cookies

ready for baking

finished, I think?

ngredients:

• 42 cream-filled sandwich cookies, such as Oreos, 30 left whole, and 12 coarsely chopped
• 2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature (I used 2 regular and 2 low-fat)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
• 1 cup sour cream (used low-fat)
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees (after my first batch I upped the temp to 325). Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.

2. With an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.

3. Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time, beating to combine and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.

4. Divide batter evenly among cookie-lined cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or up to overnight). Remove from tins just before serving.

Some notes:

• After the cream cheese is blended, it might be better to just mix by hand.  I think my batter got overly mixed which meant too much air got into it.  Some of my cheesecakes collapsed when they came out of the oven.
• Don’t forget to set aside cookies if you are going to have to reuse a tray to make  a second batch.  I did and 12 of my cheesecakes ended up without a cookie crust
• Drinking tons of vodka while baking probably isn’t a great idea
• They will still be a little jiggly when they come out of the oven
• Don’t use a toothpick to test the center

These are all things I will keep in mind for next time.  If there ever is a next time.  Despite all my minor disasters with the baking, the cheesecakes turned out to taste good still.  So I guess it wasn’t a complete fail.  Ok, I’m off to shower my still stinky, gym body and then do something fun to entertain the boyfriend.  Have a great day!