Treats for Sweets!!!

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http://treatsforsweetsbyamber.blogspot.com/

Baking Days, Holidays!

This time of year just brings out the baker in me!  I love to bake year round, but especially around the holidays.  Recently I was put up to the massive task of baking fourteen dozen cupcakes!  It was a lot of work, but I have to say I enjoyed every second of it.  I made two varieties, red velvet with cream cheese icing and double chocolate fudge cupcakes with several different toppings such as pecans, crushed peppermint, coconut and crystalized sugar.  The cupcakes were baked for a ladies Christmas Tea at my mom's church and here are some pictures from the event:

Another recent baking experience I had was making one of my favorite cookie recipes, ooey gooey butter cookies!  Don't let the name fool you, these are to die for!  This is the easiest recipe and you can change the flavor by switching out only one ingredient.  The outcome is a moist, soft cookie bursting with flavor!  It's a cake-like cookie and everyone who eats one can't believe how unique it is!  I have to give Paula Deen credit because I adapted her recipe, but she only used chocolate cake mix and I thought of using different flavors :)

Next time I really want to make these into whoopee pies or sandwich cookies by putting icing in between two cookies and then maybe even rolling the edge of the icing in sprinkles, mini chocolate chips or crushed pecans!

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

xoxo,

Amber :D

Home for the Holidays

Hello!  It's been a while since I have blogged, but we have been VERY busy :)  We moved to Chattanooga on October 30 and Rob and I started our new jobs on November 1 so the past three weeks have been a whirlwind to say the least.  While unpacking lots and lots of boxes I decided to go ahead a decorate for Christmas!  I just thought I do not want to have to drag all of this out of storage in a few weeks and the Gardners might love Christmas more then anyone else ever!  Here are a few pictures of the decorations in our home:

Hope you enjoyed the photos!  This week is Thanksgiving and I am walking in the Grateful Gobbler walk for the first time on Thanksgiving morning.  I'm going to need this nice long walk to work off all of the food I plan on eating later in the day!  I'm also making some special dishes for the big feast, so I will update everyone on the walk and the recipes later on in the week.  Stay tuned!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  We are all SO blessed and have SO much to be thankful for!

xoxo,
Amber :)

Trash TV

Does anyone else out there spend way too much time watching trash TV?  I mean those guilty pleasure shows that you are almost embarrassed to tell others that you actually watch them?  Not only do you watch them, but you never miss them!  You may even schedule your DVR to record them when you're not home!  Okay I am totally in this category and it's okay!  I feel like when I'm watching these women behave horribly, it actually makes me want to act the exact opposite of them.  So in other words I am becoming a better person by watching them!  Okay maybe not, but  I think this is a psychological way that I invented to make myself feel better about watching them.  Here are a few of my favorite trash TV reality shows...

Real Housewives of Orange County

Real Housewives of New York

Real Housewives of New Jersey

Real Housewives of D.C.

Does anyone notice a trend here?  I have watched every season, every episode of every city!  I am a total housewives junkie.  I love these shows!  Yes I know, they are filled with very immoral things and very shallow people, but that's why it's called a guilty pleasure :)  Here are a few more trash TV shows that I hate to love...

If any of you watch any of these shows let me know so I know I'm not the only good girl who watches them :)

xoxo,
Amber

It's official...

Well it is finally official...

Rob and I are moving back to our hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee!

We are beyond thrilled.  We have spent several months praying about where we should live and start our family. All signs point to Chattanooga.  Our wonderful family and friends are there and we have missed them terribly since we have been in Birmingham.  Although it's only a two and a half hour drive away, it might as well be 12 hours away!  It's much harder then you think it will be to get away for a weekend.  Once you finally get a chance to go, you never have enough time to see everyone!  Our loved ones are our support system and at times we have really felt lost without them.  It will be such a nice change to have all of them so close by!  It has been really nice to have a whole year away from home for just Rob and me.  It made us depend on each other instead of our families which brought us so much closer.  I wouldn't trade that for anything!  Moving away really makes you appreciate Chattanooga and what a beautiful Southern city it is.

This was one of our engagement pictures with the background being a beautiful shot of downtown Chattanooga!

Our moving date is October 30 so we have LOTS of packing and planning to do.  It's a lot of hard work and stress, but totally worth it to be back where we plan to settle down and start our family one day.  We will be back in Chattanooga just in time for the holidays (our favorite time of the year!!) and the birth of Catherine Grace Cornett!! :)

I can't wait to see everyone really, really soon!!!!

xoxo,
Amber :D

Baby Shower for Catherine Grace Cornett

Last Sunday, September 26, I helped throw a baby shower for little Catie Grace Cornett, Gerry and Jananna Cornett's little baby to be!  I am so excited for the two of them as they become parents for the first time.  I think everyone is in great anticipation of welcoming and meeting the first baby of our group of friends.  I had a great time planning and preparing for the shower with some of my oldest friends.  It's so special that after all of these years after high school, we are all still good friends!  We've watched each other grow up, get married, grow into wonderful wives, and now one of us is becoming a mommy.  I can't wait for November (or maybe October 31 because Jananna loves Halloween and that would be too perfect) to get here so we can all meet Catie Grace!

All of the sweet gifts people brought for Catie Grace!

The food!

The beverages!  We had sweet tea, sparkling water and a delicious pineapple lime punch.

The cute cake!  It matched the invitation perfectly!

Close up of the cake.  It had yummy strawberry cake on the inside!

The invitation, "guest book" plate, and a framed photo of Catie Grace for her grandmothers.

Thank you to Lauren, Olivia, Megan, Rosa and Courtney for all of your help!  The shower was a success because of all of your hard work.  Thank you to Gerry and Jananna for giving us an excuse to throw a baby shower!  I wish you both bountiful blessings as you add to your family and a lifetime of happy memories in your home.  I love you both!

Easy, Easy, Easy Tailgating Recipes

I love this time of year!  Rob is the biggest sports fanatic and football is his favorite.  He is a HUGE Tennessee Vols and Tennessee Titans fan so when football season is here, he is glued to the TV on Saturdays and Sundays.  I love football too (GO DAWGS!), but not quite as much as Rob, so I love to try out new recipes on him on days like today.  I'm trying out two new recipes: Buffalo Chicken Dip and Turkey and Swiss Sliders.  Let me know what you think!

Buffalo Chicken Dip


2 or 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 - 16 oz bottle ranch dressing
1 small bottle hot sauce (I only used half for just a touch of heat, but the recipe calls for the whole bottle)
1 - 16 oz bag shredded cheddar cheese
1 - 8 oz block of cream cheese

Mix all of the ingredients together and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  I stirred the dip several times while it was baking to incorporate all of the ingredients while they were melting.  You also might want to spray your casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Serve with Fritos or tortilla chips and enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Dip (I know this isn't the prettiest dish, but it's SO GOOD!)

Turkey and Swiss Sliders

party rolls (the kind that are all stuck together and you break them apart)

dijon mustard

deli sliced turkey

sliced swiss cheese

Slice the whole package of rolls in half leaving the bottoms and tops connected so you can assemble one large slider and then cut them up.  This saves lots of time!

Spread a thin layer of mustard on the top and bottom layers.  Layer the turkey and swiss on the bottom half and top with the top half.  Cut the rolls into individual sandwiches.  Wrap them all together in one layer with foil.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until warm and melted.

This is my take on "Hallelujah Ham Rolls" because Rob and I like turkey better.  I didn't use poppy seeds, because I forgot them at the store, and the 2 sticks of melted butter that the original recipe called for because I just felt like that was a bit unhealthy!  You could change your meat and sauce and create a whole new slider.  Roast beef with spicy mustard or horseradish might be tasty!

Okay this is SO easy, it's almost a non recipe!!

Here is my Fall wreath that I revamped by adding some pretty orange ribbon and spray painting the "G" chocolate brown.  I like how colorful and happy it is! :)

Happy Anniversary

Hello blog world!  I hope everyone is having a good week so far. Tomorrow is the official first day of FALL!!!  I hope this means that we will now begin to experience the wonderful feeling of the Fall weather!  Oh how I long for the crisp breezes and sound of falling leaves....  Soon enough it will be cold and then I'll be wishing it were Spring.  I'm just not satisfied sometimes!  I should work on that :)

Last Sunday Rob and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary.  It was a wonderful weekend!  We went to a beautiful outdoor wedding Saturday night and reminisced about our wedding.  It made me miss wedding planning and all of the fun things that go along with it.  I loved every second of being engaged and all of the excitement that constantly surrounds you during that special and short time of your life.  It really is a unique and beautiful time.  You're planning your magical day where you will wed your prince charming and start your fairy tale life together all while trying to let go of your childhood life and feeling a little restless about leaving the nest...for good.  I'll never forget the day I packed all of my belongings (well most of them, I'm such a pack rat!) and moved them to Birmingham.  I cried and cried in my mom and step dad's arms and it felt like I would never see them again.  Well of course I saw them again, but things really are never quite the same, and they're not supposed to be.  Thank goodness I have the best husband in the world to come home to and make me realize that growing up is wonderful and being married is the best thing that has ever happened to me!  You can still miss mom and dad too :)

Back to our anniversary....

We really just wanted to spend some good quality time together, relax and enjoy being together.  We woke up and went to church, went out to eat for lunch, watched TV, laid around the house, laughed together, went out to a nice dinner, and came home to eat our year old wedding cake and drink champagne out of our wedding toasting flutes.  We talked about all of the good things that had happened during our first year of marriage and what we wanted to work on during our second year.  We made some goals to work towards and just kind of sat back and realized how fast the past year had gone by.  It may not sound extravagant but it was exactly what we wanted and needed.  A lot of exciting changes are happening in our marriage and life that I will share about later, so we really just wanted an easy low key day together.  I can't wait to see what this second year of marriage holds for us!  I hope the first year really is the hardest because if it is, then it is all going to be easy cheesy from here on out.

Here are a few pictures from Sunday night...

Thanks for reading!  Enjoy your first day of Fall tomorrow!! :)

xoxo,
Amber Lea

Pimento Cheese (Public House Recipe)

Okay guys this is the BEST pimento cheese recipe EVER!  I used to hate the pre-made, really mushy kind you find with the lunch meats at the grocery store, but trust me this recipe is nothing like that!  If you have ever eaten at Public House in downtown Chattanooga you may have had the pleasure of eating this because it's one of their appetizers.  They serve it with grilled sourdough bread and fried pickles.  OMG it's absolutely to die for!  When I found their recipe in a magazine I had to try it for myself because I had it in the restaurant and well, it was love at first bite.  I made a batch and took it to the beach a couple of weeks ago for the group to munch on and it was a hit!  Everyone raved about it and they were practically licking the bowl clean.  You must try this next time you need an easy dish for tailgating, a party, a shower or just to make yummy sandwiches at home.  Let me know what you think!

RECIPE

2 - 8 oz. bricks cream cheese (room temperature)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
3 large red peppers, roasted, skinned, deseeded
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tbsp salt

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese until light (around 4 minutes).  While the mixer is going, puree one of the peppers in a food processor and small dice the other two.  To the mixer add the red pepper puree, balsamic vinegar, paprika, and salt.  Once combined, fold in grated cheddar and remaining diced peppers.  Chill before serving.

TIPS:

I didn't feel like roasting my own peppers so I bought a jar of them already roasted and ready to go!  They were near the pickles in the grocery store.  I couldn't find my food processor so I small diced all of the red peppers in the recipe and added them to the cream cheese with the vinegar and spices.  I also added the shredded cheese at that time too.  I personally wanted the pimento cheese to be more creamy than chunky.  That's just a personal preference.  We ate ours with the flat bread crisps in the tuscan herb flavor by Nabisco.  They're with the wheat thins and triscuits in the store.  At first I thought a whole tbsp of salt would be way too much, but once the spread was chilled, it tasted perfect.  Not too salty at all.  You could probably cut back on it a little if you are worried about it.  If your pimento cheese turns out a peachy or salmon color then you have done everything right!  It's not very yellow or orange like most recipes.  I hope you like this as much as we did!

9/11

Every year on this day I try to remind myself of exactly how our country and I felt on September 11, 2001. I was in high school at Boyd Buchanan (Go Bucs!), but I was at home sick that day.  I was at home by myself and my mom called me from work to tell me to turn on the TV.  My friends told me that all day long at school they watch the TV coverage during class and they could tell how shaken up all of our teachers were.  At the time I had no idea what kind of effect this would have on our country, but as the day went on and we began to learn more about everything that I had happened, I think everyone knew we would never be the same.  I remember everyone flew their American flags on their cars, houses and yards for months afterwards.  You couldn't get away from seeing 9/11 coverage on the news for months.  The interviews with the families of the lost Americans were heart wrenching.  Our country was all of the sudden drawn together due to this tragedy and felt an overwhelming sense of patriotism and gratitude to our men and women in uniform.  We were at a stand still.


Now nine years later, I cannot believe it's been nine years, I am so proud to say I am married to my own personal hero who put his own life on the line for our country.  My husband Rob served in the United States Army for three years after 9/11.  He loved every minute of it.  He would give any thing to be able to return to the Army, but unfortunately he suffered a back injury while under attack Iraq, so he'll never be able to.  He loves America more than any one I have ever met.  He never complains about our country, our government or his injury and he continues to be such an inspiration to me every day.  I am so blessed to have him as my husband!  I love you more than anything Rob and I am proud to be your wife and an American.

Rob in front of an Army Hummer.  He used to drive these and tanks in Iraq.

Rob and I in our red, white and blue on July 4th.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!