Fabbity Find! Rain boots that look like Converse Chuck Taylors!

I saw these tonight and almost died! I am SO in love with them!! lol. I am really tempted to buy them for my little sister. They are so funky yet an awesome idea! Her little feet would never get wet! They were about 35.00.. and I only saw black.. but rainboots that look like Converse Chuck Taylors?!!?! Too cool for school! :0D

*UPDATE*-- Here's the info on where to get YOUR pair :) *CLICK*

* The BEST Pumpkin Cheesecake! * (Cheesecake Factory Style!)

I found my new favorite recipe!! It's a copycat recipe for The Cheesecake Factory's Pumpkin Cheesecake! (Which is my absolute *dream* cheesecake) Here's the recipe.

Ingredients you'll need:

Crust-

1 1/2 Cups graham cracker crumbs (I used the cinnamon ones to give the crust a good flavor.. you could probably use gingersnaps as well.. Mmm!)

5 Tbsps melted butter 

1 Tbsp sugar

Filling-

3 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese

1 Cup sugar

1 Tsp Vanilla

1 Cup canned pumpkin

3 Eggs

1/2 Tsp cinnamon 

1/4 Tsp nutmeg

1/4 Tsp allspice

Optional Topping.. Whipped cream.... etc

**MAKE SURE YOUR INGREDIENTS ARE ROOM TEMPERATURE BEFORE STARTING!!**

First thing I do is preheat the oven to 350º and create my water bath. You can do this by covering your springform pan in  foil and submerging it halfway up the side in a pan of water. The water surrounding your pan will help the cheesecake cook slowly at an even temperature....  OR, you can do like I did and place a pan full of water on the bottom rack of your oven to keep the air moist. (Just make sure there is plenty of water so it doesn't all evaporate) If you're taking the second route, go ahead and place your water pan in the oven to get the moisture going!

Now let's get started on the crust! Crush up your graham crackers until they are fine crumbs. I either put the crackers in a ziplock and smash the crap outta them, or use my blender attachment. While smashing the graham crackers let's get our butter melting!

I usually put the butter in the bowl I'm going to mix the crust ingredients in and pop it in the microwave for 30 sec.

Your crumbs should be done now.. Throw them in your bowl with the butter and 1 Tsp sugar.

Mix until moist. (with the pale dead hand you have in your utensil drawer)

Now, spray your 8in. springform pan with Pam.. or oil it however you feel. Pour the crumbs into the pan and pack into the bottom and sides. (About halfway up the sides)

Pop your crust into the oven for 5 mins.. then, take it out and set it aside.

Grab a bigger bowl and begin on the filling! Blend your cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth...

Perfect!

Now measure out your pumpkin and plop it in the bowl!

::pLoP::

Measure out your spices and toss them in! (I don't think they need to be adjusted, but feel free to experiment!)

Toss in your eggs and gently mix until combined. Don't over mix or you will end up with a mess of nasty!

Pour your filling into your crust...

Place in the oven above your water bath....

Bake for about 60 mins until just the very center jiggles!

Stare at your full sink and laugh... because it's ALLLL gonna be worth it! ;0)

Yay! It's done! shut off the oven and let it sit until it cools to room temperature!... (A couple hours)

I took mine out a little early (after about an hour) and it felt the cold draft in  my kitchen.. cRaCk! *Tisk Tisk* You must have patience!

The next Morning after it cooled and was put in the fridge over night.

*Delightful!*

See.. just cut down the big ol crack and no one will know how impatient you were lol

Hope you enjoy as much as I did! ... It really hit the spot and filled the craving I had for The Cheesecake Factory! I should be good while we are stationed in Germany now! (Not too mention the money I saved making it myself .. YAY!)

Any tips?.. Mods... suggestions?...

Ciao4now!
Steena

Oh the things we take for granted!

We officially have a car!!! YIPPEEEE!! No more walking up and down, hill after hill, in the freezing cold and rain!!! The process was super easy and the gas rations card seems like a very easy system as well! Now I can get out and *explore* .. Sorry it's not a VW.. but we should have one of those shortly.. for now, this has heat and runs! NO complaining :)

*Sniffle sniffle*

I'm a little under the weather.. but I promise to have something up soon ;)

--Steens

*Banana Bread* Super Moist and Flavorful!

Have some overripe bananas? GREAT! Let's make some banana bread!

First, get out all of your ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (I use light) 
• 2 eggs; beaten
• 2 1/3 cups mashed bananas (6 or 7 bananas)
• optional spices.. cinnamon.. nutmeg.. etc

Now preheat your oven to 350 degrees.. hotcha cha cha chaaaaa!

While your oven is preheating go ahead and start on your batter. Mash your bananas first! You can put them in a ziploc and squish the crap out of them, OR you can throw them in a blender/processor. 

Next, combine your flour, baking soda, and salt in one bowl... and cream your butter and brown sugar in another.

Stir in the eggs to your butter mixture.. then add  your bananas.

This is BANANAS ... B-A-N-A-N-A-S. *snap, clap*

Now is the time to add any spices you'd like.. I kept it simple and added couple sprinkles of cinnamon. I like the banana flavor on it's own :)

Lightly grease your 9x5 in loaf pan... or you can make muffins (which is what I usually do)

Pour in your batter .. glurp glrup glrruuurrrp

Bake for about 60 mins or until your toothpick comes out clean. :0D

Super fabbity fab!

This is the *best* thing to wake up to in the morning.. mmm MmMmMmM!

Baked goods and the Holidays... My favorite time of the year! <3

Quick Change for Fragrance Tarts...

I am a candle person! I love coming home in the evening, lighting up a bunch of smelly candles, and relaxing to the warm glow and comforting smells. Nothing beats it :)

Wax tarts are my next favorite! Unfortunately, changing out that wax tarts can be a pain in the a**. Here is how I switch them out.

First, I heat up the wax until it's completely melted. Then, I pour the wax that's in the burner into an empty glass. (I have one I use just for this purpose) There is usually just a little wax left in the burner so I put a few drops of warm water in them which solidifies the leftover wax before it resticks...(make sure you add the warm water while the wax is still HOT) Dump the remaining wax chunks that form into your wax jar. Now you can wipe off the burners and put your new wax tart in.

Here is my wax jar above.. All of my burners had warm spicy scents that blend well together... I tend to keep the smells separate so that I can reburn them again.

When this wax hardens I break it up and put it in a ziplock until I decide to burn this scent again. You can rebuse this wax over and over and over!

Here are some of my recycled scent tart chunks.

Burners filled with their new fall scents!

Another way to do this would be to freeze the wax filled burners and "pop" them out when they are frozen... I find it to still be quite difficult to do and usually end up stabbing myself with knives in my hands trying to cut the wax free.
The first way works so much better for me... less work and less time consuming! :)

Hope this helps!
--Steens <3

Southern Chicken & (Biscuits, Dumplings, or Pastry)

Since I've been over here in Germany, there has been no better food than comfort food! At least once a week I try and make a hot and hearty meal for me and the hubs. This week I made chicken and biscuits. In North Carolina you'll find it as 'chicken and pastry' and 'chicken and dumplins' I love dumplins and pastry, but my husband (the northerner) prefers biscuits. If you would like to substitute either, go for it ;-)

First you'll need some chicken! I like the boneless skinless stuff because it's quicker. If you feel like adding a  lot more flavor and doing a little extra work, bone-in-chicken works great too. Then you'll need some cream of chicken soup.. (either 1 big can or two small ones) a regular can of chicken broth, some green onion, and some garlic.

Now's the time to pop open that slow cooker! HELLO MY PRETTY!

Rinse your chicken and place it in the pot.... Add your cream of chicken soup and about half your can of broth. (You can add more or less of the broth depending on how thick you like your gravy sauce) Chop up your green onion and add about a handful. This is when I usually sprinkle a little garlic powder, some season salt, and some black pepper. (Do this to taste as well) Then throw in about 2 or 3 cloves of chopped garlic to give it some good flavor. If you're going to use pastry, now is the time to add it. Dumplins can be easy if you use canned biscuit dough. Just throw it in as chunks and it cooks up really nice :) (about one small can) Cook on high about 6 hours... or adjust to fit your needs. Around 30 minutes before the chicken is ready is when I usually toss the biscuits in the oven.. Grab them out and pour the chicken over a hot biscuit for a great meal!

This is the *perfect* dish to fill you up on those chilly days!

--Steens <3