Mr. 3-0-5

SadieLeave a comment

It seems like these days every great pop or rap song that come out has one thing in common: Pitbull.  I don’t hate it.  I’ve been a fan of the whole hispanic rap sound for a while.  I went through a serious Sean Paul phase in college.

Earlier this week I heard Pitbull’s new Men In Black song on the radio and it reminded me that I pretty much like every song he puts out.  In addition of Pitbull’s catchy, fun songs, the man knows how to put himself together in the morning.  This dude can wear a suit.  He brings a whole new level of classiness to rap that his predecessors have attempted but never achieved to his level of success.   Even though he uses a lot of the traditional rap narratives in his lyrics, I feel like his lyrics are continuing to get more mature.  Also the fact that he collaborates with artists across the board, I think shows that he’s a nice, friendly kind of guy.  I saw his episode of “Behind the Music” and his mother basically confirmed these suspicions.

My top five recent Pitbull jams:

1. Back in Time (MIB theme)

2. International Love (feat. Chris Brown)

3. Give Me Everything (feat. Ne- Yo)

4. Dance Again (with J.Lo)

5. I Like How it Feels (with Enrique)

My top five older Pitbull jams:

1. Go Girl

2. I Know You Want Me

3. The Anthem

4. Hotel Room Service

5. Shake (with Ying Yang Twins)

PS- Make sure to watch J.Lo’s new video “Dance Again.”  The girl knows how to pick her boyfriends.

Waffle House Waffles

CarrieLeave a comment

Well if you have ever been on a real road trip, I’m sure you have seen the black letters in yellow blocks that spell out “WAFFLE HOUSE”.  Take it from me, it is worth the stop.  With the right prices and quick service, your experience at the Waffle House is sure to be enjoyable.  In the meantime, here is a reproduction of their famous pecan waffle recipe compliments of Food Network Magazine.  I didn’t have pecans so I left them out.

Pecan Waffles

Ingredients

3/4 cups toasted pecans, 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 large egg, 1 cup whole milk, 1/2 cup buttermilk, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 2 tbsp unsalted butter (melted and cooled), 1/4 cup vegetable shortening (melted and cooled)

Directions

Whisk together dry ingredients in a bowl.  Do not mix in pecans just yet.  Whisk together wet ingredients in a bowl.  Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined.  Batter will still be lumpy.  Do not over mix.  Preheat waffle iron and brush with melted butter.  Sprinkle with 2 tbsp pecans.  Cook until golden brown.  Top your waffle with maple syrup and enjoy.  They are so delicious you don’t even need butter on top!

I Want Some More

Sadie1 Comment

Do you need to bring some dessert to a pool party or BBQ?  Two words of advice: Marshmallow Treats.  One thing I’ve learned over the past couple years, is that you need to pick recipes to make that align well with the occasion, not just because you want to try something new, or an impressive technique.  It’s like dressing for the occasion, even though it’s probably better to be over dressed than under dressed, I would rather wear a fashion forward casual outfit than be the only tool in a dress and sky high heels.  That might be just me, but I must say, every time I’ve made marshmallow treats to bring to a party, they get raves.  Yes, marshmallow treats, the dessert that has minimal ingredients and doesn’t even have to bake in the oven.  They’re more unique than cookies, take a fraction of the time, do not require climate control, and only get gooier in the warm weather.

Do you want to reap compliments?  Make these:

S’mores Marshmallow Treats

makes about 18 squares (depending on how much you eat while you make it)

Ingredients

  • 1/2 stick butter
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 bag mini marshmallows (plus an extra handful if you like gooey)
  • 6-7 cups Golden Grahams Cereal
  • 1 bag chocolate chips

Method

  1. Prepare 9 x 13 pan with parchment or non-stick spray.
  2. Warm up a pot on the stove over medium heat.  Melt butter.
  3. Add the bag of marshmallows to the butter and stir until melted.  Add vanilla to mixture and turn down heat to low.
  4. Add cereal to mixture and turn off heat.  Mix well to distribute marshmallow mixture and add an extra handful of marshmallows if you want gooier bars.
  5. Sprinkle a handful of chocolate chips on the bottom of the prepared pan.  Add mixture on top of chocolate chips.  As you spread the mixture out add more chocolate chips so they are incorporated throughout the bars.  Once the mixture is spread evenly, add remaining chocolate chips on top (I try to add them strategically so they don’t all melt right away).
  6. Allow to cool to room temperature then move to fridge or freezer to speed up the cooling process.