I eat way more of these than I should. I love hugs and I love salt (especially pretzel salt) and the combination of the two are wonderful! It’s probably a good thing I don’t have any of these items at my house on a regular basis or I would have some major health problems I’m sure. Not that I don’t eat a lot of sugar anyway… Well, you should definitely give these a try! They are delicious and make a great party treat.

Pretzel Hugs

1 bag pretzels
1 bag M&Ms
1 bag Hershey Hugs

Spread pretzels on baking sheet. Place a Hug on each pretzel and bake on
250 degrees for about 4 minutes. (Watch closely and take out of the oven just
when hugs have started to melt, but are still holding their shape.) Remove
from oven and promptly place a M&M on each hug. Chill completely before
serving.

Every Utah food blogger probably has to have some form of Jell-o on their blog at some point right? Well, I can’t say I’m generally a huge fan of Jell-o but… my mom’s layered Jell-o Salad (it’s still funny to me to call it a salad) is really good. So try it out! I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

By the way, thank you to my mom for making all of the lovely foods you’ve seen in the last few posts (and a couple more to come). She had all of the food ready to be styled and photographed and she did all of the clean up. I would have to say it was one of the best shoots I’ve done because all I had to do was photograph! Don’t get me wrong… I love cooking and baking, but the combination of those with setting up a beautiful shot takes a lot of work. It’s nice when someone else is there to help (or do half the work). My little brother thought it was a great idea too as he got to eat the food when we were finished.

And now for the recipe!

Layered Jello Salad

4 small boxes of Jello-each a different color.
Mix each with 1 c. boiling water when adding a layer

White Layers:
2 envelopes knox unflavored gelatin dissolved in1 c. boiling water.
Then add…
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup cold water

Dissolve 1 small box of Jello in 1 cup boiling water and pour in a clear glass bowl or
9×13 pan. Mix white layer while this first layer sets up. After it is completely set pour
on 1/3 of the white mixture (about 1 cup). Continue adding layers letting each set
completely until all 4 colors alternated with three white layers have been added. Let
the jello mixed in the boiling water cool slightly before pouring it on the set layers. If
the white mixture starts to set up before you pour it on, put it in the microwave for a
minute and stir until smooth.

Choose colors of jello that match a holiday or season like red and green for
Christmas or red, white and blue for summer or the 4th of July.

This chicken is easy to make, but looks and tastes delicious. Let it soak and cook in a crock pot all day so it is nice and juicy then put it in the oven with some cheese and tomatoes and viola! A beautiful dinner!

Balsamic Feta Chicken

12-15 chicken tenders of 4 chicken breasts
1 cup balsamic vinaigrette dressing (I like to use Newman’s)
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
Grated parmesan cheese
Crumbled Feta cheese
*optional-diced tomatoes (canned or fresh)

Place chicken in a crock pot. Cover with balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Cook on low 6-8 hours turning chicken occasionally. Carefully remove chicken (so it doesn’t fall apart) and place on a greased cookie sheet or baking dish. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and feta cheese. Add tomatoes if desired. Broil for 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted and slightly toasted.

(You could also marinate the chicken and then grill it before putting it in the oven rather than cooking it in the crock pot)

It’s been way too long since my last post! I should have a few new posts in the next few days with delicious recipes, so keep an eye out for them!

We have had nice weather for the last few weeks, even though September is usually cold. This week it really seems like fall though. It is cooler outside, it’s rainy, and the leaves are changing color. As a farewell to summer, I have this delicious slush recipe to post! So now, when a hot day sneaks up, you’ll have something refreshing to drink!

Fruit Slush

1 c. sugar dissolved in 2 ¾ c. water

In blender combine: 2 ripe bananas
1 ½ c. pineapple juice
1 6 oz can orange juice

Add to sugar mixture. Stir in additional 1 ½ c. pineapple juice and 2 Tbs lemon juice.
Pour in 9×13 pan and freeze 4-24 hours.

To serve let mixture stand at room temp 20-30 minutes. To form slush scrape a
large spoon across the frozen mixture. Spoon into punch bowl. Add 1 2 liter bottle
sprite. Makes 24 4 oz servings

I wanted to try using a mixed lighting technique in an action shot. So I convinced Connor to be my model. We went up to my grandparents pasture (one of the few outdoor places we new had a power outlet) to give it a try. Connor tried to do a wheelie several times. He got pretty high but it doesn’t seem quite as awesome on camera. However… he said he would keep practicing. I love the way the sun looked coming through the tree. While it wasn’t exactly what I was picturing, I was pretty satisfied overall.

Kevin and I have been married for two years today! Sometimes it seems like we’ve always been married and sometimes I can’t believe it’s been two years. I do know that it’s wonderful though. On Saturday, Kevin was being a little suspicious. I tried going down to the kitchen when he came running to the bottom of the stairs and wouldn’t let me in. I went back upstairs and waited until he said I could come down. When I did go down… this is what was waiting!

Three of my favorite things: sunflowers, sparkling cider, and junior mints. How could an anniversary get better? Seriously, I think I may be addicted to both Junior Mints and Martinelli’s. I’m always tempted to buy them, wherever I am. While we do try and reserve sparkling cider for special occasions, I do often try to come up with “special occasions” so that we can buy it.

P.S. Don’t you love our awesome plastic “wine glasses”? There was some good reason for purchasing plastic (which I don’t remember)… and they were cheap. My brother always uses one when he come over. Makes me laugh.

Kevin and I have been married for two years today! Sometimes it seems like we’ve always been married and sometimes I can’t believe it’s been two years. I do know that it’s wonderful though. On Saturday, Kevin was being a little suspicious. I tried going down to the kitchen when he came running to the bottom of the stairs and wouldn’t let me in. I went back upstairs and waited until he said I could come down. When I did go down… this is what was waiting!

Three of my favorite things: sunflowers, sparkling cider, and junior mints. How could an anniversary get better? Seriously, I think I may be addicted to both Junior Mints. I’m always tempted to buy them, wherever I am. While we do try and reserve sparkling cider for special occasions, I do often try to come up with “special occasions” so that we can buy it.

P.S. Don’t you love our awesome plastic “wine glasses”? There was some good reason for purchasing plastic (which I don’t remember)… and they were cheap. My brother always uses one when he come over. Makes me laugh.