Cranberry+Cutie Holiday Tart Recipe

At the Bagley house we have a few traditional recipes we make every year for both Thanksgiving and Christmas Dinner--when it's our year to spend one of those holidays at the Nielson's, I always make sure my mom saves me a taste because holidays don't feel compete without getting my fill. One is my mom's sausage, cornbread dressing. It's so good that this year, I made it to bring to the Nielson dinner and all the brother-in-laws couldn't stop raving about it. I have a feeling it's going to become part of their tradition too.

The second is my mom's Cranberry+Cutie Sauce. It's more like a fruit salad, but it's what we use for our cranberry sauce, because, well, once you try it, you'll realize all other cranberry sauces are inferior. Marcus even asked me to make that and bring it to the Nielson's this year too.

The thing is, we always make up a huge batch so we can snack on it for the rest of the week, but I had an idea on how we could mix it up and use our leftovers to create something new! As they say, variety is the spice of life :)

One of my favorite summer desserts is fruit pizza--it's a sugar cookie crust with strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, pineapples and oranges. So I thought it would be fun to create a winter version--a cranberry+cutie tart!

You start off with the sugar cookie crust--use any soft sugar cookie recipe you like--I even used zest from the Cuties in my dough.

Depending on the size of tart you want, you can form it in large muffin tins, small pie tins or a full size pie! I like a pretty thick crust, so form it about 3/4 inch. Bake until just golden. Let it fully cool, then fill in with about 1/2 inch of the cream cheese, whipped cream filling. Lastly, you top that off with your cranberry+cutie sauce.

We use the Zyliss food slicer to cut up the pears and apples, but you can do it by hand if you don't have one. Blend up the cranberries in a food processor, nice and fine. Then chop up the pecans with a large knife, or lightly blend in a food processor. Dice up the cuties-- the more cuties the better! Really, the cuties bring such a refreshing, juicy pop to the tart. It was taste tested around the family and all agreed it was a winner!

Let me know if you give it a try and how you like it. I'd love to hear some of you favorite holiday recipes too!

Cranberry+Cutie Holiday Tart//

Start with your Favorite Sugar Cookie Recipe with Citrus Zest

Cream Cheese Filling:

One 8 oz brick of cream cheese softened

6 cups freshly whipped cream, sweetened to your liking with powdered sugar

Cranberry+Cutie Sauce:

Two Apples

Two Pears

6-8 Cuties

1 Package of Cranberries
1/2-3/4 cup of sugar depending on sweetness of fruit

Pecans to taste (we like lots!)

Check out Cuties website for more seasonal recipes and inspiration from their #100DaysofSunshine campaign.

And follow along on social: Facebook & Instagram

*Thank you Cuties for sponsoring this post. 

A Betty of a Cookie!

Reason's I love this cookie--just cooled from the oven they have this very thin layer of crisp, like a perfectly toasted marshmallow,  that up until now has been very hard for me to achieve without the use of Crisco, which I refuse to use. The inside is still a little but gooey while they're still warm, which is delicious, but also rich, so it keeps you from eating the whole patch right away. Because of said gooeyness, they are still perfect the next day and if you can resist the following day after that. They no longer have that crisp skin, but they're still soft and satisfying and now way too easy to eat 3...4 at a time. I also recently tried this Guittard brand chocolate chip after having some troubles with my normal Tollhouse choice and really like them a lot more!

Both this recipe (a vintage Betty Crocker recipe and that choc. chip brand were recommended to me by friends on SnapChat! Woot woot--love that app more and more each day :))


Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup semi-sweet Guittard brand chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375°
Mix sugars, butter, vanilla and egg in mixer
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl
Mix in flour mixture to sugar mixture, Stir in chocolate chips.
Place rounded Tablespoon sized balls 2 inches apart on cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Centers will be soft. Cool on pan slightly, then cool on rack.







*This is my take on this original recipe found here

DIY Clean Deodorant

Bad news: sweating is our body's natural way of ridding toxins from our system, which means anti-perspirants aren't only full of potentially cancer causing chemicals, they're also trapping toxins inside of our bodies. Good news: I'm sharing this non-toxic deodorant recipe that's easy to whip up at home! 

• 6T of coconut oil, 
• 4 T arrowroot powder, 
• 4 T baking soda, 
• A couple drops of lemon essential oil, a few drops of bergamot oil and a few drops of tea tree oil (all have natural antibacterial properties), 
• A short, wide mouth glass jar or tin. 

Mix the powders then add the coconut oil, then the essential oil. BAM! You're done. Mine smells like delicious coconut lemon dessert. 

Apparently when you make the switch to a homemade/natural deodorant, your body goes through a detox phase, where it basically is purging your pores of the gunk from anti-perspirants, so you're supposed to go at least a week before you judge whether your new deodorant is working (probably don't plan your armpit detox during the week of a big event or special date!). Good to know, right?

We tried this recipe during the Summer in Arizona, Marcus still uses it exclusively and loves it, I used and liked it when I was waxing my armpits, but found it to be irritating (baking soda) when I was shaving, since I have sensitive skin. Now that I'm not waxing, I switched to using this natural deodorant while I search for another recipe that doesn't use any or so much baking soda.

When Life Gives You Lemon Oil, Make Natural Lemon Cleaner!

Um, public service announcement: Lemon oil is the most amazing smelling thing on this planet and all humans should have it in their home and smell it often. In my effort to switch over to a non-toxic home, I whipped up this all-purpose cleaner that took about 45 seconds to make-- I've been cleaning mirrors, windows and countertops with it and I'm so happy to throw out the garbage I was using before! *You have to be careful not to use too much oil or else you will deal with streaks on glass/mirrors 

I used a 16 oz glass spray bottle bought on amazon (buy here), 2 Tablespoons of organic white vinegar, 6 drops of lemon essential oil (buy here), and filled the rest of the bottle with filtered water--shake it up before each use. That's it. Get cleanin'!

{My nail polish is also all natural from piggy paint here}

{foodie} friday: chocolate éclair sheet cake

I'm generally a huge sweets fan, but with this pregnancy, at least so far, I have craved deserts and candy a lot less than usual. But the one thing that sounds good just about any time are chocolate eclairs--particularly one's from Proof Bread, but since many of you don't have access to Proof, I won't taunt you with tales of it's goodness, and since I can't afford to get eclairs there everyday, I have to make do. And I must say, this is a pretty delicious option :)

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 stick butter
1 cup flour
4 eggs
1 8 oz. package cream cheese
3 cups milk
1 large package vanilla instant pudding
Fresh whipped cream 
Chocolate syrup

Preparation instructions:
Crust//
Step 1: Boil 1 cup water and 1 stick butter, then pour mixture into 1 cup flour and slowly mix in 4 eggs, one at a time. It's a weird consistency so I use a whisk to get it to blend well.

Step 2: Spread mixture into a large, greased cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 25 minutes, or until golden brown. (if you're planning on serving right away cook it to just barely golden, but I prefer to make it a day or at least several hours in advance and then let it sit in my fridge--this allows the crust to moisten a little, in which case you want the crust baked 'til a true golden brown color is achieved)

Step 3: Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Filling//
Step 1: Add package of cream cheese, 3 cups milk and package of vanilla instant pudding in a blender and blend until smooth (this ends up being more pudding than you need, so just put as much as you think you'll like, i ended up having at least a cup extra).

Step 2: Spread pudding mixture onto cooled crust and allow it to set up a little before spreading fresh whipped cream over the top.

Step 3: Drizzle chocolate syrup over the top and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Step 4: Cut into squares, garnish with a fresh strawberry or raspberry and enjoy!

MOCKTAIL MENU:

Alright, just because we don't drink alcohol, doesn't mean we don't love a fancy, pretty drink every now and then--ever since I was in high school, I've been trying out fun mocktail recipes, and let me tell you, they are such a huge success at parties and get-togethers. 

So here's a delicious menu for your next fancy soiree (or maybe the next time you want to do something simple and special for you and your husband after a hot day out in the sun!)

Feel free to Pin this post if you found it useful!

*Serve all drinks "On the Rocks" (with ice)

Shirley Temple

Rim Cup  (Dip the mouth of the glass in pineapple juice and then in sugar)

Add a cap full of grenadine

Fill glass w/ Ginger-ale or lemon-lime soda

Add one or two Maraschino cherries
Garnish with slice of lemon or orange

Roy Rogers

Rim cup with sugar

Add a cap full of grenadine

Pour Cola

Add Maraschino cherry

Garnish with slice of lemon or wedge of pineapple

Mint Mojito

Rim glass with sugar

Lemon-lime soda

Cap full of sweetened lime juice

Sprig of fresh mint

Garnish with slice of lime

Cuddling on the Beach

*Serve with an umbrella
1 oz peach nectar 
3 oz lemon-lime soda 
3 oz orange juice
Shot of cranberry juice

Garnish with orange, strawberry or kiwi slice

Fuzzy Belly Button/Baby Bellini

No ice
¾ cup Sparkling cider
¼ cup of peach nectar
Garnish with a fresh strawberry, peach slice, or raspberry

Do you have a favorite Mocktail recipe! Do share :)

{foodie} friday: no bake lasagna

You can find the recipe on my pinterest board here although I added mushrooms.
It was a nice, light change from the meaty lasagna I grew up eating (not that i don't love that as well).
I served it with a side of pretzel bites, but I don't think I've mastered those quite yet...
Do you have a good lasagna recipe you'd recommend?

cookies that can kill {in the best way imaginable}

Because I didn't think you should have to wait for the whole baby shower post... here is the most miraculous recipe of our times.

The original recipe can be found here.  I will also have it on my recipe blog here, because i live in fear that recipes will get erased and i will crawl in a cave of devastation and withdrawals. The only difference is that instead of trying to wrap the dough around the nutella dollop, you can just form two small flattened dough patties and sandwich the nutella, then pinch the sides. I hope you try these. and that your life is forever improved. Amen.

{Foodie} Friday: Pita Bread

recently i found this pin and so with a freezer full of falafel and a fridge equipped with both hummus and tzatziki sauce i figured now was as good of time as any to actually try one of the thousands of pins i pin with the best intentions...

the ingredients are about as simple as they can get:

water

yeast

salt

flour

unfortunately i wasn't thinking in advanced, and you do need a rolling pin.

i got that point and couldn't locate ours, so i just used a cup--i believe that was my downfall.

you need to get the 'discs' to be 1/4 of an inch thick and now that i think of it mine were probably more like 1/2. I also didn't flour my surface as much as i needed to because after the 30-40 min. rise, they stuck to the counter and that deflated them a bit.

i made my dough into 8 medium discs and my first 4 turned out pretty delicious, but the second 4 didn't puff up at all in the oven and they were a little crackery.

i believe it is a learning process and next time they will be even better (hopefully!)

one last tip is that i would either only bake the amount your planning on eating right from the oven (refrigerate extra dough) or take them out before they get to the "golden" phase because the second day even my good ones seemed a little dry.

Good luck! Let me know of any tips or other recipes you think i should try!

happy friday :)

{Foodie} Fridays: Summer Salad

And now for our next installment of {foodie} friday:

I have a hard time getting myself to make a salad. 

I really enjoy a good salad, and my sister-in-laws on my both side are always bringing these delicious varieties to Sunday dinner, but whenever i try and make one it's like a bag of mixed greens and some hidden valley ranch.

So I finally bit the bullet and tried something fancy.

My mom had a raspberry vinaigrette recipe that i adapted

1. because i forgot to buy raspberries and we have blackberries in our backyard

and 

2. because my moms recipe was incredibly sweet (mine's still sweet, I just cut the sugar way back)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 2/3 cup of white sugar (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1-1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds
• 1 fist-full of fresh blackberries

Directions

--In a blender combine vinegar, sugar, mustard, berries, & salt mix until combined. With the blender running, add the oils through the hole in the top. Blend until well mixed. Add poppy seeds and pulse just until mixed.

If too thick, mix in water a little bit at a time. Dressing will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks.

*I served with half spinach, half romaine lettuce, fresh strawberries, candied slivered almonds, and mandarin oranges (thought of them after i snapped the picture). So fresh and delicious!

Enjoy!

{Foodie} Fridays: Eat Your Heart Out

Marcus and I finally have a fully functioning kitchen 

(minus a toaster, anyone have any toaster suggestions?)

And so we've made it a goal to start cooking at home more often.

Marcus, the tech savvy guy that he is, found us this really cool app called Pepperplate that we've really been enjoying. It organizes grocery lists for you when you upload recipes from online.

Anyway, I wanted to share some of our favorite new found recipes, starting with my favorite so far:

I call it the 

Eat Your Heart Out Pasta:

Ingredients:

12 oz. oil marinated artichoke hearts (buy in a jar at any grocery store)

2 cloves minched garlic

1 16 oz. can diced tomatoes

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Kosher salt and pepper to taste

12 oz. cooked penne pasta

Parmesan Cheese to taste

Fresh chopped basil to taste (necessary, fresh basil makes everything better!)

Chopped flat-leaf parsley for garnish (not really necessary)

Instructions:

1. Drain the artichokes, saving the oil for cooking.

2. Heat 3 Tablespoons of artichoke oil in medium pan. Add the garlic and saute over medium-low heat. Saute for 10 min. and stir in diced tomatoes, tomato paste, dried basil, oregano, and season with salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered for 30 min.

3. Add the drained artichoke hearts and the remaining artichoke oil and stir while simmering for another 10 min. Sprinkle in a bit of fresh parsley.

4. Either stir the penne in the sauce or top it with the sauce. 

5. Garnish with Parmesan cheese, fresh basil.

We also had steamed artichokes with salted butter salt as our fresh veggie.

Left-overs are great the next day :)

Let me know if you try it and what you think!

The Taste of Fall.

If you recall, I wrote a Restaurant Review for a place called Bandera and I raved about the magical corn bread. My wonderful sister-in-law, whose anniversary we were celebrating in that post found this and now the entire family is addicted. It's really just dessert disguised as corn bread. We'll probably turn into corn bread before Autumn is over. 

I thought I'd share:

Bandera Corn Bread Clone 
from Food.Com
Ingredients: 
(serves 16 or just me and my sister...)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 (15 ounce) can creamed corn
3/4 cup of whole corn (fresh or frozen)
2 ounces green chili peppers (1/2 small can, roasted syle)
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cheddar cheese (shredded)
1/2 cup monterey jack cheese (shredded)
4 eggs
Directions:
1. Prehead oven & 12 " cast iron skillet to 300 degrees.
2. Mix flour, cornmeal, salt & baking powder and set aside. Melt butter and combine with sugar, creamed corn and chili peppers. Mix to combine. Add eggs one-by one and mix until well blended. Add whole corn and cheese. Fold-in flour mixture until mixed well, clumps are okay.
3. Carefully remove cast iron skillet from oven and evenly coat top and sides with canola/vegetable oil. Pour in cornbread batter (be careful, it may splatter).
4. Bake 30-60 minutes, or until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
(Err on the side of underdone because the moistness of this is one of it's virtues)

The Perfect Summer Waffle

I really, really like waffles. 

So much so that I would throw big Waffle Friendship Parties, and some of my friends called me 'waffles' in High School...is that embarrassing? Should I have not told you that? 

Probably shouldn't have, but it gets my point across.

What I'm trying to tell you, is that I have made a lot of different waffles in my life and I've tried even more, and when I tell you that this is the most deliciously, perfect, fluffy, divine, impress-all-your-friends, scrumbditiliuptious waffle heaven, you should believe me. 

Without further ado, my favorite recipe:

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

2 cups buttermilk

1/4 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

fresh strawberries

bluebell vanilla ice-cream

Prepare:

1. Slice strawberries into a bowl, sprinkle with a tiny bit of sugar, just so a bit of syrup can develop. Cover and place in fridge.

2. Prepare Waffles: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Make a well in the center of the mixture; set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir just until moistened; batter will be slightly lumpy.

3. Take ice-cream out, so it can soften a bit.

4. Preheat a Belgian waffle iron and spray with nonstick spray. Bake until waffles are completely done (you want them a bit crispy). Use a fork to remove finished waffles. Repeat with remaining batter. 

5. When the waffles are ready, spread on ice-cream, scoop on berries and drizzle a bit of maple syrup. Use as much or as little as you’d like. 

6. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

Well Ain't You a Peach...

Other than the weather cooling off and Halloween, one of my favorite things about the coming of Fall are the Utah peaches we get shipped in by the box load!

As I looked at the overflowing box with mouth a watering, I heard a group in the corner whispering something through their fuzzy lips. I looked around me to see if it was coming from some human, but no one else was around, so I bent over to get in on the conversation. 

"Cobbler...Peach Cobbler..." 

They were chanting it in a low hum, that got louder with each passing second. It reminded me of that scene on Babe, "Baa-Ram-Ewe, Baa-Ram-Ewe..."

That was all the convincing I needed, I got out the ingredients and an hour later the house was filled with the smell of peach divinity. 

Fruit never ceases to blow my mind with its goodness. 

What's the most mind-blowing thing about nature to you?

For more delicious recipes, check out my other blog. The one you never knew I had.

iphone recap.

Got this pretty little drape shirt this week at H&M it's so comfy and only $12!F1 Race Factory with the brothers Marcus and I (mostly Marcus) is trying to eat less bread (pasta, grains, etc) and so we've been eating a lot of fruit and this breakfast of fresh nectarines and yogurt had me craving more and more all week!um, ya, my text messages are really serious stuff usually...I'm obsessed with this entry way. I'm trying to figure out if I could do the address like that on a home someday...
Snuggling my precious neice.
Spent some time in Downtown Phoenix for First Friday and ate the best grilled cheese of my life @ The Main Ingredient.Antiquing Saturday! Still kicking myself for not buying this bag. It was a little pricey though...
Saturday Date Night at Scottsdale Mall. We smelled fancy pantsy cologne at Barneys. Then Marcus said someday he wanted to take me to a really nice make-up place and drop a bunch of money on me! Hahah I never expected to hear that from him, but, okay...if he insists...:)Marcus grilled us up some chicken for Sunday dinner. It was fantastic and we've decided that if we get the condo that we're bidding on right now, we're going to buy a grill first and then when we have more money buy an oven. Ha! Is that a ridiculous idea?Made these again for dessert. PERFECTION! Have you tried the recipe yet? it is decided that i take too many pictures. so sue me if i see a lot of beautiful things...What have you got going on this Labor Day? Be Safe!