The Neiman Marcus Dip

Ok!  So my second appetizer from Thanksgiving I found on Pinterest and the name got me first before the actual recipe!  

What kind of dip is a Neiman Marcus dip?  Is this a dip that Neiman Marcus served at their store in a cafe?  Why do they call it this?  I still don't know the answer but from the website that I got the recipe from - they say it is because the dip is very rich!

5 ingredients -that is all it is - served on Ritz crackers!  Take a look at the recipe HERE.

And I am not a mayo person or a green onion person, but this dip doesn't take like either of those things!  The combination of those 5 ingredients (mayo, slivered almonds, real bacon bits, green onion, and cheddar cheese) put on top of a Ritz cracker taste amazing!  My mother-in-law said it reminded her of one of those dips served at a ladies luncheon and that it is going to become a Thanksgiving staple - so that must mean it's good!

This dip is so easy and I definitely recommend it!

5 ingredients = amazing!

Yeah for easy delicious dips!

xoxo Sarah

Brie and Cranberry Tartlets

So I finally have figured out how to use Pinterest!  Yes - I am a little behind the game on that - but I have now figured out how to follow people and use it!  So YEAH!  You will be seeing a lot of posts from recipes I have found from Pinterest!  So have fun trying them!

First off, I had to make some appetizers for Thanksgiving and thought I would make a couple I found on Pinterest!  First appetizer - Brie and Cranberry Tartlets!  Very pretty for the holiday season!  Click HERE for the recipe!

They were very good - lacked a little flavor - but I still think they were great!  I think I might have added too much orange zest - but they were yummy!

Phyllo Tarts + Brie + Cranberry/Orange Zest

Very fun little holiday apps!  Best if they are served right out of the oven!

Yeah for holiday apps!

xoxo Sarah

Thanksgiving 2012

This year, we celebrate Thanksgiving with Zach's family.  It was very nice and the food is always amazing!  We had to go around the table and say what we were thankful for so I will share with you what I said:

I am thankful for my husband and for family especially my family who is up in WI.  I am also thankful for the job I have, the food at the table, and the warmth of a home!

So Cheers - and I hope you all had a wonderful wonderful Thanksgiving - with a lot of Turkey and a lot of love/family!

The beautiful turkey, the Foosball tourney, the table, Zach's cousin Cathleen and I wearing red pants, Clare with her huge drumstick, Zach's cousins the other Sarah Campillo and Jess, and my name card that the girls made last year (Zach started the tradition of making name cards when he was 3 years old!)

The dessert pies!  Harvest pie, pumpkin pie, and chocolate cream pie!  Sophia, Clare and Cathleen made the pies for Thanksgiving this year - they were delicious!

Happy Thanksgiving!

xoxo Sarah

Mom's Turkey Dinner

Ever since I was a little girl, I remember my mom always making a turkey/pre-Thanksgiving dinner for our family the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  My dad - LOVES- how my mom cooks a turkey!  Sometimes it falls on my birthday, but usually it is after my birthday - I can't remember the last time my birthday fell during the week of Thanksgiving but this year it did!  So this little Kaminski celebration is a little pre-Thanksgiving feast as well as a little birthday celebration!  Take a look at the pics below from the Sunday before Thanksgiving!

Also - a reason why our family always does this is because we love watching the Packers together!  Turkey + Packers = AWESOME!

 A beautifully carved turkey, my mom's dining room set up - yes there is ketchup on that table for me, and my red velvet birthday cake!  THANKS MOM!

This has to be one of my most favorite days during the year!  Thank you to my mom who always does this when she doesn't need to - such great food and great family to share it with!

Yeah for Turkey!

xoxo Sarah

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Hey all!

Sorry for the lack of posts last week -but Thanksgiving came so quickly I had no time to blog!

Now!  I am sitting here - just put our Christmas decorations up and thinking where has the time gone!  I can't believe it is already Christmas again!  This is crazy!

So this week, I will be blogging about Thanksgiving - but after that - it's winter and Christmas posts!

So the weekend before Thanksgiving, I was able to spend some time with both my in-laws and my family!

First up!  A little Clare and Sarah time!  My sister-in-law and I had a fun filled Saturday playing American Girls, having taco salads, and baking our first whoopie pies!  And what's the best whoopie pie to have at Thanksgiving time - PUMPKIN!  So I brought along the recipe from Brown Eyed Baker's recipe for Pumpkin Whoopie Pies!  Take a look at the recipe HERE.

They were these beautiful little pumpkin cakes made into sandwiches - absolutely delicious!!!

Take a look at the fun we had!

Yeah for Whoopie Pies!

xoxo Sarah

Happy Birthdays!!!!!!

Yes!  November for me is a crazy month when it comes to birthdays!  So this is a quick hey and happy birthday to all those in my life who have birthdays this month!

Happy Birthday to:
Megan, Ang, Sophia, Nana, Charlie, Angela, Keira, and Lexie!  If I am missing anyone I am sorry!  But for those listed and all those out there:

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear all friends and family, Happy Birthday to you!

Source: HERE

Yeah for Birthdays!
xoxo Sarah

Oatmeal and "K"raisin Cookies

So!  When Kate was over this past weekend, we took an oatmeal raisin cookie recipe and made it with craisins instead of raisins!  And since these cookies were made by the Kaminski girls - they are now called Oatmeal and "K"raisin cookies!  My sister has a talent for cooking - she has loved it for as long as I know.  I can't even remember - but for one Christmas when she was like 12 years old, my parents bought her a starter cooking set from Emeril.

So, I figured a great little time for us to spend together was making cookies together for a Sunday night dessert while watching the football games.

I used this one cookbook I got from my mom right when I got engaged to Zachary.  It's a bridal edition cookbook from Betty Crocker.   I love love love this cookbook - it is probably my most favorite one.  It explains things so easily for you and helps you really learn how to bake and cook.  It's really great for beginners and for meals for just two people!  I really suggest it as a great wedding shower gift if you are looking for one!

It's special edition from the "Big Red" Betty Crocker cook book!

Kate and I had a lot of fun making the cookies!  See below:

Kate reading off instructions to me in the kitchen and then helping scoop the dough onto the baking sheets!

So here is the recipe that is so so so good:

Ingredients:

2/3 Cup Granulated Sugar

2/3 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup butter, softened

1/2 Cup Shortening

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 large eggs

3 Cups quick-cooking or old -fashioned oats

1 Cup all-purpose flour

1 1/4 Cup craisins (if you want to use raisins instead - the recipe calls for 1 Cup raisins)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.

2. In a large bowl, beat all ingredients except oats, flour, and craisins with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon.  Stir in oats, flour, and craisins

3. On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart.

4. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until light brown.  Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

I have to say - these are absolutely delicious!!!!  So yummy and they taste better because of the love put into them!  I had so much fun making them with Kate!  I miss baking with her and my mom!

Yeah for cookies!
xoxo Sarah

Sister Sister!

This past weekend - as I was fighting my cold - my one and only sister Kate came down for our 2nd annual Kaminski sister weekend.  We decided to keep it local in the Chicago area.  We had a lot of fun and did some touristy activities including going to the top of the Sears tower - yes, the Sears tower is now called the "Willis" Tower.

View from the highest building in the Western Hemisphere - and then Kate and I in the glass boxes over the city of Chicago!

After having a fun Friday off of work and having some quality bonding time, we were able to go down tot he city again on Saturday to wish Zach's friend (and mine) Miles a happy birthday and good luck on the move as he heads to Columbus, OH!  We will miss you Miles!

Best friends forever and Zach being silly - Thanks honey :)

Then on Sunday - we were able to just relax watch some football and make some awesome cookies which my next post is about!  

I miss Kate all the time and wish I could see her everyday!  I hope she knows that - she is my best friend and I love her more than anything!

Yeah for Kate!

xoxoxo Sarah

Bakerella's Chocolate Breakfast Biscuits

Hey everyone!

I am so sorry that I have been MIA this past week.  I have been fighting a bad bad cold :(  So it has been hard to just look at the computer and write!  For those that are fighting colds right now - I feeeeel your pain! If anyone has great suggestions on home remedies for bad colds - I think everyone would appreciate your comments!

Anywho!  The other weekend - pre-cold - I made these chocolate breakfast biscuits that I have had my eye on for quite a while!  I got the recipe from Bakerella.  She is more known for her cake pops which are each individually a piece of art - take a look - and prove me wrong :)

Click HERE for the recipe.

This tasty fun sweet breakfast treat is great not just in the morning that you make them - but can be warmed up the next day to eat on your way to work!  It's super delicate and has this French feel to it!

Enjoy this breakfast surprise!

Happy biscuit baking!

xoxo Sarah

Remembering...

This past week was the 2nd anniversary of my Grandma passing away.  She, being the extremely religious woman she was, passed away on November 1st, otherwise known as "All Saints Day."  Just thinking back on her and her life, make me thankful for knowing such a wonderful woman.

Now that it has turned to November, Thanksgiving is coming up.  Of course I love the Black Friday deals and shopping, but over the past couple years I have remember to give thanks for all the wonderful amazing things in my life as well as the trials that have made me stronger.  I am thankful for a loving husband who is my best friend and life.  I am thankful for my amazing family - my mom, dad, sister and of course Beau the dog.  Without them, I would be nothing.  I am thankful for my extended family - the Kaminskis, the Koszalinski, the Campillos, and the O'Haras.  I am thankful for my home and warmth and food.  I am thankful for my job and my husband's job.  I am thankful for being able to see, hear, smell, taste all the wonderful things this world has to offer.  There is so much more I can list as well, but then what would I say I'm thankful for on Thanksgiving Day!?

Take some time out of your day to realize how thankful you are for the things you have in your life.  Be Thankful.  What are you thankful for?

Source: HERE

Happy to be thankful!
xoxo Sarah

Easiest French Onion Dip

Now - everyone might know this secret already, but I did not prior to meeting my husband and his family.  They love love love French onion dip for chips!

All you need are any kind of plain chips - and then to make the dip - one 16 oz. tub of light source cream and one packet of dry French onion soup mix.  Wah la! Delicious!  It's that easy - and that fast.

I recommend using any type of Kettle Cooked Chip and Lipton's French Onion Soup Mix.

Just thought I'd share a fav snack for any get together we host!

Happy Chip Dip making!
xoxo Sarah

Skinny Pumpkin Shooters!

I am so so so excited to share this recipe from SkinnyTaste!  This has turned out as one of my new fav fall recipes - it's quick, easy, and great for a big group of people!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Shooters!!!  Click HERE for the recipe!  We didn't have double shot glasses, so I used these little iced tea glasses I got as a gift from my mom and sister and they worked perfectly!!!

Just the perfect fall dessert for a large group of people!

I made these this past weekend when we had our friends Conor and Morgan over for football on Sunday!  They loved them too!  This recipe literally tastes like pumpkin pie in a glass! I highly suggest making it! It's definitely going to be a fall staple in our house!

Happy Pumpkin!
xoxo Sarah

Skinny Spooky Spider Cupcakes

So to celebrate Halloween this year, I decided to make cupcakes!  I have been doing a lot of recipes lately from the blog SkinnyTaste - so there are going to be quite a few posts from that blog - including this one!

I saw these cupcakes and I thought they were so cute I have to make them!  I didn't have eyes for the cupcakes, but they still turned out really cute and I got a lot of compliments on them in my office!  It is the craziest recipe though for the cupcake - just cake mix, pumpkin, and water!  Easy, light, and soft!

Click HERE for the recipe!

I cute the licorice with a kitchen shears - i'm sure there are black licorice pull n' peels as well!

Happy Halloween Treat Making!

xoxo Sarah