Pictures from Marv Eric's Birthday

 Last night mom and dad Musialowski, Lindsay and Ryan came over to help celebrate Marv's 2nd birthday. Dinner and Dessert was delicious, but we enjoyed spending great time with our family and loved the conversation. Marv also enjoyed his birthday very much and over indulged a little bit on treats. He was a in a treat coma by 10!

Lindsay came over to celebrate!

Happy 2nd birthday! 

The Musialowski's

Mom & Dad Musialowski

Look at all the treats he received!

One happy birthday pup with his Dad

Super man or super dog???

Father and pup

Mom and pup

Our handsome little pup on his 2nd birthday!

Molly Rae

I am so excited to announce the birth of my best friends first child - Molly Rae. She was born on Friday, September 13th at 6:09 pm weighing 9 lbs 7 oz and 21 inches long. She is just a bundle of joy and her and mom are doing great!

I was able to go visit them in the hospital after she was born. I am so proud of my best friend! She is going to be a wonderful mother and I am looking forward to many years of spoiling Miss Molly.

Amish Breakfast Casserole

I found this recipe while scanning through Pinterest to find a quiche or casserole to serve at the splurge party brunch I was hosting. I liked the basis of this recipe, but added my own flavor to it.

Amish Breakfast Casserole
Serves: 8

1/2 lb Turkey Bacon, diced
1 tsp onion powder
5 eggs, beaten
1 bag of frozen shredded hash browns
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese (I used fat free)
1 1/2 cups shredded swiss cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, cook bacon until bacon is crisp. Drain any excess fat. In a large bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients. Once bacon is slightly cooled, stir in the bacon. Transfer to a greased 13x9 pyrex dish (see note below for what I did for the party). Bake, uncovered at 350 for 40 minutes. Let stand about 5 minutes and then serve.

Note: for the brunch I hosted, I cooked the casserole in two pans - 8x8 and glass loaf pan. This made serving easier; when the 8x8 was cold, I pulled out the warm loaf pan to serve "2nds" from. I kept this pan in the warm oven (at 200 degrees) until I needed it to serve. Also - instead of cutting the casserole into squares, I served it with a spoon and it worked out just fine.

Splurge Party - Waffle Bar Brunch

Waffle Bar

So it was my turn to host our splurge group for this month and I decided to do a brunch complete with a waffle bar, make your own mimosa's, amish breakfast casserole, sausages and yogurt parfaits. The party idea was a hit with my friends and super easy to host too.

My plan of attack to pull off the party was as follows:

One Week in Advance:
- purchase all non-perishable food and paper items for the party. Store these items all together so it is easy to find the day of the party and so that nobody uses the goods in the house.
- put together your cooking schedule or timeline. You will want to make sure you are not trying to juggle 4 things in the oven or 5 on the stove top.

4 Days in Advance:
- Start cleaning, I usually pick up the stray items that get left all around the house. Then I will organize any counter space and wipe down the appliances and cabinets.
- Pick out music. We have satellite tv, therefore my favorite go to are the music stations for parties as I am not a big music person.

3 Days in Advance:
- Purchase any alcohol that is needed (in this case, the champagne) and store properly

Make your own Mimosas!

- Clean the foyer or front hallway where the guests will be walking through - everything look right? I do a walkthrough to the party space to make sure things look neat and tidy.
- Clean out the fridge to make room for your party groceries and dishes

2 Days in Advance:
- Do the grocery shopping for the party!
- Vacuum and mop
- Set out all serveware to make sure you have what you need
- Press table linens (if using)

1 Day in Advance:
- Clean the bathroom (make sure you have extra TP)
- Sweep your front steps
- Prep any dishes that an be made ahead of time. For this brunch, I prepped the Amish breakfast casserole, rice krispie treats and cut the fruit.

It's Party Time!
- last minute room check to make sure everything looks neat and tidy

Fruity Yogurt Parfaits

- Make/Bake day of items. For the brunch, it started at 10 am. I made the yogurt parfaits around 8:30, baked the casserole at 9:00, started the sausages at 9:20 and starting making all the waffles at 9:15. I read online that to keep the waffles warm and crispy (not soggy like they get when they are left out), to put them in a pyrex dish and keep warm in a cooler oven. I did this and set the oven to 200 degrees and it worked out perfectly. I wanted to have all of the food prepped, baked and ready to go so that my guests could eat by 10:20 and so that I could enjoy the party too and not have to be cooking in the kitchen the whole time.

Rice Krispies, Parfaits, Casserole and Sausages

The party went off perfect and all my friends took home both waffles and rice krispie treats. I would definitely do this again - it was easy to host and fun for my guests!

Here is what I served for the waffle bar:
- waffles (duh)
- fresh fruit - strawberries, banana slices, blueberries & raspberries
- Spreads - peanut butter, nutella, butter
- Toppings - maple syrup, chocolate syrup, strawberry syrup, chocolate chips, nuts and whipped topping

For the Make your Own Mimosas:
- 3 different juices: orange juice, fruit punch and apple cider ('tis the season)
- champagne and ginger ale (for virgins)
- Fresh cut fruit - strawberries, oranges, blueberries & raspberries

Tablescape

Marv Eric's 2nd Birthday!

September 2013

November 2011

Today our little Marv Eric Moulds Levy Musialowski turned 2! We are excited to celebrate with our family later. We are having stuffed pork tenderloin, roasted mixed vegetables, stuffing and maybe some fresh bread for dinner. Of course, Marv is getting wet food - his favorite!

September 2012

Then we are having ice cream to conclude our celebration! Marv is even getting some puppy ice cream :)

I will have to post pictures at a later date of our little party.

His 1st Birthday!

January 2013 - our little pup!

Our Countdown to Disney Continues - Mickey Shaped Pizzas

As we are getting closer and closer to our trip to Disney World, we are getting more and more excited and we are marching through our Disney Countdown activities.

This past weekend, we decided to make Mickey shaped homemade pizzas. I had excess dough from a recipe I was making for Pretzel Wrapped Hot Dogs and used it to make the pizzas. It was really easy - once the dough was made, I used the leftover dough and formed the following - rolled 4 golf ball sized pieces of dough into a ball shape. Then I split two of the large sized balls into two (four smaller sized balls of dough). The large ball of dough is the "face" and the two smaller balls of dough are the "ears". Next I pulled and rolled the dough balls into a circle shape. Once the dough was rolled and formed into a circle, I placed the smaller circles at the top of the large circle and gently pinched together the edges. I did the same for the other pizza. Then we added the toppings we wanted and baked them at 400 for about 15 minutes. Because of their odd shape, I ended up baking them both on a large cookie sheet instead of a pizza pan.

Tailgating Food & Bills Home Opener

So excited that Fall is right around the corner. I love the cooler (not cold) weather and the excitement of all the upcoming holidays and time with family and friends. Fall also means Buffalo Bills football season is upon us. Although I am not a super fan like my husband, I do enjoy going to the games (unless it is raining) and being part of the action.

Sausage Muffin and Pretzel Dogs

The home opener was this past weekend and although we lost to the Pats, I had a great time with Christopher and my father in law. And of course with football comes tailgating and with tailgating comes delicious food. For this Sunday's game I made pretzel wrapped mini hot dogs, sausage breakfast muffins and chocolate chip cookies (Christopher's request). They all turned out delicious (especially the cookies) and we even brought some into the stadium to nibble during halftime. I did not realize this until last year, but fans can bring food into the stadium. This year, we put the muffins, pretzels and cookies into clear ziplock bags for easy inspection by security. I am definitely going to pack myself food going forward.

Sausage Breakfast Muffins
Makes about 36 mini muffins or 24 large muffins (not filled to the top)
Note: made 24 mini muffins and then used the rest of the batter to make 12 large muffins. I prefered how the large muffins crisped up more than the mini muffins. I think this is the type of muffin tins I have. I use my grandmother's mini muffin pans which do not allow the muffins to crisp. I have a Calphalon muffin pan, that crisps the edges, which is what I prefer.

1 lb ground pork sausage (mild or hot)
1 tsp onion powder
3 cups Bisquick
1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese
3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375. Brown the sausage and onion in a large skillet until it is cooked through and can be crumbled. Crumble into smaller pieces. Drain any excess fat and cool. Once cool enough to touch, combine the sausage, Bisquick and shredded cheese in a large bowl. Once combined, stir in the soup and milk. Once all of the dry ingredients are thoroughly moistened, scoop into greased muffin tin(s), filing each cup not quite to the top. Bake for 15-18 minutes (longer if using regular sized muffin tins). The top and sides should look golden brown.

Sausage Muffin on left, Pretzel dogs to the right

Mini Pretzel Dogs
Makes 30 mini dogs (about 1 whole package of sausages)

4 Tbsp melted butter
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups warm water (important - should be very warm)
1 package of instant yeast
4 cups flour
about 1 tbsp of vegetable oil
2/3 cups baking soda (for boiling pretzels)
1 egg yolk (for egg wash)
Sea Salt for topping pretzels
1 package mini dogs/sausages

Using a stand mixer, combine the butter, sugar, salt and 1 1/2 cups warm water. Sprinkle the yeast on top. Add the flour and mix with the dough hook attachment on low speed. Once the dough starts coming together, increase the speed to medium and beat the dough for about 4 minutes (I LOVE my kitchen-aid mixer - best thing EVER). Once the dough ball has formed and kneaded, pour about 1 tbsp of vegetable oil over the dough and turn the dough ball so that all sides of the dough are coated in the oil. Cover the bowl with either a towel or plastic wrap and let rise on the counter for about 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray. Once the dough is ready pull apart a piece of dough about the size of 1/2 a golf ball. Roll the dough in your hands or on an oiled surface to form a rope about 6 inches long. Wrap the dough rope around one mini dog, making sure the ends of the rope are "stuck" and will not unravel. Continue rolling the dough pieces and wrapping the hot dogs until either all of the hot dogs are used or the dough is used. (Note: If you have leftover dough, which we did, we used the dough to make homemade pizza). Next, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add the 2/3 cup of baking soda to the water (watch - it will fizz up). Carefully drop the wrapped hot dogs into the boiling water one at a time for about 30 seconds, turning the hot dogs once. Using a slotted spoon, remove the boiled hot dogs and return them to the baking sheet. Repeat until all hot dogs have been boiled. Brush the top of each hot dog with the egg wash and then sprinkle with the sea salt. Bake in the preheated oven until they are golden brown (longer if you want them darker) - about 20 minutes. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before serving.


Chocolate Chip Cookies (recipe taken from Plain Chicken)
Makes about 5 dozen mini cookies (I like them bite sized so I feel less guilty)

1 stick butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 3/4 cups Bisquick mix
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, mix butter, sugar, vanilla and egg. Slowly mix in the Bisquick mix. Once the Bisquick is mixed, stir in the chocolate chips. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 8 minutes or until golden brown. I usually do a "bottom" check of a cookie. Cool for about 2 minutes on the cookie sheet, then remove to cool on a wire rack.

Oreo Bomb Cake

I made this cake for my dad's birthday this past weekend and it went over very well. Not to mention that it is super easy to make for how great it tastes. Just note - you need to prep this the NIGHT BEFORE you want to serve it. This allows for each of the Oreo layers to get extra soft and gooey.

Oreo Bomb Cake
Serves: 9

1 package regular Oreos (not double stuffed)
1 1/2 cups of milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp powdered sugar (more or less depending on how sweet you want the whipped topping)
1 tsp vanilla extract
NOTE: you can use 1 large tub of Cool Whip topping if you choose. I make mine homemade because it is super easy and I think the taste is better!

Make your homemade whipped topping. Combine the 1 cup heavy whipping cream with the powdered sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl and beat on high until stiff peaks form. Get out an 9x9 glass dish. Dunk each Oreo into the milk and place in a single layer in the glass dish. Continue until the bottom of the dish is covered (about 12 oreos). Spread a layer of whipped topping over the Oreos. Repeat the first two steps, creating two more layers. Cover and set in the fridge overnight - for at least 8 hours prior to serving. Serve the cake with crushed Oreos on top.

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend is always bitter sweet - it means the end of summer and the start of Fall season. I love summer - the warm, the sun, and all the BBqs, but I also like decorating for Fall and the change of seasons.

Yesterday we wrapped up a busy weekend with celebrating my Dad's birthday. In honor of his birthday, we went to Destroyer Park Golf and played 18 holes. It was a blast! Plus we got to meet the Destroyer himself - Dick Beyer! What a nice guy. It was a beautiful day and a great time spent by my Dad, Trev and I.

We then went back to the house to enjoy some pizza and wings for his birthday. Christopher picked up Papa and he came over too. We then ended the celebration with some homemade cream puffs (my mom's recipe is amazing!) and Oreo bomb cake, which I made.

It was a great end to a nice weekend. Now that Labor Day is over, I can finally justify drinking apple cider and pumpkin spice lattes; way too early to start in August right?

Is it too early to start packing?

I am super pumped for Disney (if you cannot already tell). Yesterday I had Christopher help me cut out little Mickey heads to make a little banner for our resort window. I will post pictures after I make it!

I totally want to start packing. I think I have purchased just about everything I will need. When is it too early to start packing for vacation???

Until then...I will keep dreaming of you!

Just a Little Dinner on the Weekend

So in typically Ellen fashion I had a whole to-do list for this weekend of everything I wanted to accomplish. Well...it is Monday and most of it has not gotten done. Which is actually okay because I was able to do many other things. One of them being trying a new recipe!

I LOVE goat cheese. Actually I love ALL cheeses, but right now I am on a goat cheese kick. So dinner Saturday night I decided to make some grilled chicken with roasted tomatoes (this was a fail) and goat cheese. Kind of like the Chicken Bryan recipe from Carrabbas. It turned out pretty good. I served the chicken with sauteed green beans (in the lemon garlic sauce I made for the chicken) and leftover Truffle Tortellini from our dinner at Salvatores (total cheat here - but it went pretty well). Christopher LOVED it and it was fairly simple to made too.

Grilled Goat Cheese Chicken with Butter Sauce
Serve: 2

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, halved lengthwise
salt & pepper, to taste
olive oil
2 ounces goat cheese
2 roasted tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
4 tsp onions, minced
4 tsp garlic, minced (I think I added a little more - I love garlic)
1 stick of butter
2 tbsp lemon juice

Prepare the chicken: brush chicken on both sides with olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Grill chicken until done. While chicken is cooking, prepare the butter sauce. Saute onion and garlic in 2 tbsp butter for about 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice and reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes to reduce. Add remaining butter until it melts and looks nice and creamy. Add chopped roasted tomatoes and basil and heat through. Top the grilled chicken breasts with 1/2 oz (or 1/4) of the goat cheese. Cheese may soften and melt a little. Then spoon the lemon butter sauce over the goat cheese and chicken breasts.

Roasted Tomatoes - I sliced up the tomatoes earlier in the day and roasted them in olive oil and minced garlic. Well...I forgot about them and they burned quite a bit. Not having the canned stuff I decided to use them anyway and they were not totally bad, but their taste was a little more potent.

Splurge Update

So I can't remember if I announced this or not, but I won this past month's splurge! And..I have spent my money :)

I originally had planned to use my splurge on a new swimsuit or two. Last week I had my fitting at Blums and they were having a HUGE sale! Like...I walked out of there and felt as if I stole these beautiful suits from them. Anyways, I had a wonderful experience (ask for Angela if you go) and ended up buying two designer swimsuits! Total spent: $62 and change! So...now what was I suppose to spend my splurge on?? I mean this was a good problem to have but I felt like I really have to make it count now.

Cute Right? The one on the left is a Ralph Lauren two piece - top $14.99, bottoms $24.99; Suit on the right is Michael Kors (I love the little zipper accent on the left side) - $19.99!

Christopher and I ended up going garage saleing and we found three beautiful, framed posters and prints of Buffalo. I have wanted a picture in my office at work for quite some time now, so we ended up bargaining with the owner and purchased the three framed pictures for only $40! We split the cost evenly and Christopher said that I get the pick of which picture goes with me to work. I am thinking about putting it up to a vote at the next party and have my friends help because honestly...I like them all! We will probably end up putting the remaining two in the living room of our house.

So now I still have some money to spend! It was totally by accident how I spent the remaining amount of my splurge. We were running errands and stopped at Home Goods to pick up some new table runners for our buffets when I decided to head over next door to TJ Maxx to check out their sales. And it was there that I spotted them...a cute pair of Coach Loafers calling my name. They fit pretty well too! So I got them and a cute pair of Nautica tennis shoes - for Disney of course! I know that it sounds very vain but I would rather wear these cute shoes than my running sneakers around Disney.

So there you have it! I am so excited to show off my splurges at the next party. Every one is loving the idea of a brunch party. I just hope that I can pull it off :)