Red, White, and....

green?!?

Sorry, no blue basil here.  But just looking at this picture is making my mouth water.  This is the perfect summer snack, or meal with some wine after a long day at work (speaking from experience!)

The best part of my Caprese Salad is that I grew the basil myself!!  I have been known to have a black thumb, but I actually planted 3 different seeds a few months back (basil, cilantro, and chives) and watched them grow!

What started out like this...

 and this...

 grew a little to become this...

 and grew a little more...

 and more...

yummy!  I'm so proud of my gardening skills.  Not too shabby for a city girl, huh?

Happy 4th of July!

Too late for new year's resolutions?

I'm lucky to have a hubby who cooks. I actually enjoy cooking too, but the idea of investing time/energy into preparing dinner after a full day at the office just hasn't ever appealed to me. Hubby thinks every meal requires meat, but to me, PB&J is more than adequate. But... old dogs can indeed learn new tricks! I've started planning menus & grocery shopping weekly and having fun trying out new recipes. And I think the hubs is enjoying his break from cooking (although I would never dream of replacing him as grillmaster!!)

I recently made this carmelized onion & prosciutto pizza (recipe from The Pioneer Woman) which was fantastic! I loved the sweetness of the onions, so I ended up making it again only a few days later :)


And my favorite new recipe for the summer is this Mango Salsa. It's perfect with tortilla chips or on top of grilled chicken or pork loin or shrimp or you get the idea... Mango Salsa

Ingredients:
1 mango
1 jalapeno, seeded
1 red bell pepper
green onions
1 lime

Directions:
1) Chop mango, jalapeno, bell pepper, and green onions and combine together in a bowl.
2) Zest lime, then juice lime and add both zest & juice to bowl and stir gently.
3) Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

P.S. I got a new toy (the new Nikon 50 mm f/1.8 lens) and I'm loving it!! The pictures above were taken with it :)

It's the Butter!

This weekend I decorated a cake (the first in over 3 years) for an informal wedding celebration. Or as we called it, a knot-tying celebration.

Back when I took the Wilton cake decorating classes, I remember the basic icing tasting not so great even though my co-workers (mostly men) never complained and ate every last piece of cake (and usually before 11 am!) But this time, I wanted to make a really good sticky-sweet delicious icing. And let me tell you, it's all about the butter!

Buttercream Frosting Recipe:
1 c. butter (softened)
1 t. vanilla
1/4 t. almond extract
4 c. powdered sugar
2 t. meringue powder
3 T. milk

Mix together butter, vanilla, and almond extract with power mixer (love my Kitchenaid!) Mix in powdered sugar one cup at a time with meringue powder. Last add milk - use less or more milk to get the desired consistency.

And a picture of my recent french vanilla cake with buttercream frosting:

A stick of butter...

That's the start of any great recipe, along with a cup of sugar, as any good southern cook will tell you. I by no means consider myself a master in the kitchen, but I know my sweets and occasionally like to spend some quality time with my KitchenAid mixer and oven!

"Mia Dolce" is Italian for "my sweet", so it's only fitting to mix in some articles on baking. My all-time favorite go-to recipe is for Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Cookies. A slight twist on the normal chocolate chip, and I like to fool myself into thinking the oatmeal adds some nutritional value!

The recipe (courtesy of my sister):

1 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1-1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
2 t. baking powder
2-1/2 c. quick oats
1 c. chocolate chips
1 c. nuts (if desired - I normally leave out!)

Mix all together, drop spoonfuls on greased cookie sheet, and bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes. I made some tonight for Justin's poker buddies, and they were gone in no time.