Homemade Oreo Ice Cream

Now that summer has finally made its way to the Midwest nothing has been better to make to chill down then ice cream. It also helps that I got an Ice cream maker for my birthday. 

This weekend the hubs and I wanted to give a new flavor a try, and we went easy with Oreo.  Here is how we made it below: 

Oreo Ice Cream

2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream

14 Oz Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 package Oreos (crushed) 

1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

1. Mix together in a medium sized bowl the cream and condensed milk. Add vanilla flavoring. 

2. Place ingredients in the ice cream maker for 25 min. 

3. While first ingredients churn, chop Oreos by either placing in food processor or put into a plastic bag and beat with spoon until crushed. 

4. When ice cream has about 12 minutes left add Oreo bits. 

5. Once 25 minutes is up place ice cream into a container with lid and place in freezer to continue to harden. Should be completely firm within 4-6 hours. 

6. Enjoy! 

Chocolate^2 Cupcakes

 I recently discovered Pamela's Gluten Free Baking Mixes. I've tried a few other "gluten-free" brands, but nothing compares, so I decided to do a Double Chocolate Cupcake this weekend. This has to be one of my favorite combinations, and the frosting is AMAZING ... notice the caps there. AMAZING.

In fact I froze the left over frosting to use on a Boston Cream Cupcake I want to make this weekend. I will note this combination is very rich since both include sour cream, so make sure you have milk handy but I swear it's delicious.

Cupcakes (using the Ultra Rich Chocolate Cake Recipe found here)

1 Package  Pamela's Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix

2 Large Eggs

1 Cup Sour Cream

1 Cup Water

1/2 Cup Oil 

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees. Mix all the ingredients above, then place in individual cupcake wrappers. I used a gingham print from HomeGoods. Then bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out without anything sticking. Let cool and then frost. 

Frosting (using the recipe found here) 

1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
1 1/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream (from the carton)
1/4 cup sour cream (don't use light or fat-free)
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Per Recipe Girl you'll want to do the following: 

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Whisk in the sugar and cocoa powder. In a separate bowl, whisk together the cream and the sour cream. Slowly add this to the pan, whisking it in until well combined and smooth. Mix in the espresso powder and heat until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. 

Then let the frosting cool to room temperature.  (Note: It was taking a VERY long time to cool, so I tucked mine in the fridge for about 45 minutes and then set out to frost.) 

This was not a sponsored post.

Grilled Asparagus

Our favorite seasoned vegetable of the summer has to be asparagus. It is so easy to prepare and looks and tastes great with every dish. If you want to "wow" your guests without doing much of anything here's our go to:

You Will Need:
3 tbls Olive Oil
1 tbls Parmesan Cheese
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper

To prepare, take a sheet of aluminum foil and make a little boat for your asparagus. I do this by folding in the four sides to create "rails" ensuring it's the right length and width of the amount of asparagus I am cooking.

 I then take the asparagus and cut of the bottom "white" chunk. It's not needed and it isn't as tasty as the other part of the stem. 

Then I drizzle the asparagus with olive oil, and then sprinkle on the salt and pepper. Using tongs I move the asparagus around in the boat coating each piece with the olive oil and salt and pepper. Then I add the Parmesan cheese. 

We then place the boat on the grill for about 10-15 minutes on high heat until it's well cooked. To get some char marks, we then place the asparagus on the grill for a few minutes just until you see some grill lines and take them off.

There you have it. Simple grilled asparagus. 

Note: You can also add 2 tbls lemon juice and some lemon zest if you'd prefer to have it a little bit more light a flavorful. Just reduce the amount of olive oil by 1 tablespoon.

Grilled Pork Chops

(iPhone 6 photos) 

When I was younger, my dad loved pork chops and it was a normal staple in our weekly meal rotation. As an adult though, I haven't really considered it. I am traditionally a steak or chicken girl. We decided to try some center cut chops and it made me fall in love with them again. I'm definitely going to have to buy more next time I head to the butcher shop. We also served with some grilled asparagus & corn. So delicious.

To prepare lightly coat pork chops using olive oil - I used about 3 tablespoons for 4 chops, I then sprinkled the following rub in each of the chops coating all sides, and pressing gently into the chop. I then placed each chop into a plastic ziploc bag and let them "hang out" in the fridge until we were ready to grill.

Pork Chop Rub: 
3 Tbl Paprika
2 Tbl Sugar
1 tsp Ground Mustard
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Enjoy!

Lately on Instagram.......

Be sure to follow @mallorymclellan

 

Fresh hydrangeas and a antique brass duck that I found at a antique store for my book shelf

 Michigan Cookies for Memorial Day

 

Latest Amazon purchase. So far half way through Wild, and I really love the way Thug Kitchen was written. I've already tried a few recipes and they were tasty.

 

Nothing like a little outdoor oasis to catch up on some mags, and enjoy some ice cold lemonade. Sweet summer time. 

 

Such a cute treat, and it was tasty too. 

Living Room Upgrade

Table Lamps /Area Rug / Mirrors/Wall Art/Throw Pillow/Dark Throw Pillow/
Beacon sofa/Throw Pillow/Curtains/Bonsai Tree/Sequin Throw Pillow/Flooring/Reclaimed Coffee Table/Table 

We spent the better part of early winter, price quoting everything we wanted to do to our house. From fencing to basement installations, anything and everything was price quoted. One thing I put on the to-do list first was our living room. We still use the same furniture I purchased my senior year of college, and while it was a nice purchase five years ago, it has moved from four different locations in that time frame. Getting a little bumped and scraped in the process. 

Now that we're settled a bit more in our house, it would be nice to update our living room to reflect our personal style and taste. Currently our living room is very light and bright, but there is not much on the walls, and it lacks seating for when friends come over, making it awkward. To help alleviate that, we're going to actually purchase a couch and a loveseat, a chair and two poufs. We really fell in love with the Beacon Sofa at La-Z-Boy. It has the style that you love from Pottery Barn, but the comfort you expect from La-Z-Boy. Also, if you time it right you can get a descent deal on it. 

Best Spinach Dip Ever

Earlier this week I mentioned I did quite a bit of cooking over the weekend. One thing I made that was a huge hit at Easter was my mom's spinach dip recipe.  I have to say I was a bit thrown off by that it was cold, I usually eat Spinach Artichoke Dip that is warm, but my mother-in-law liked this so much she came over the next day to grab more.

Spinach Dip: 
1 C. Mayonnaise
2 C. Sour Cream
1 C. Water Chestnuts (drained & chopped)
1 Pkg. Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix
1 Pkg. Frozen Spinach (well drained)
1 Onion Chopped

Mix together & serve cold.

Enjoy!

Bacardi Rum Cake

When my mom passed over 15 years ago, one of the lasting momentos I received was one of her personal cookbooks. No i'm not talking about one from some random author, the one she wrote her favorite recipes in. Now my Mom was a fabulous cook, and she had many but unfortunately we could only find one (not even the best one!) Luckily, my Dad found it not so long ago, and I have discovered some really fun (random) recipes that i've been trying week by week. 

For Easter I actually made three of her favorite dishes, and one of them included the 1970's hit "Bacardi Rum Cake" while at first I thought this was some special recipe, turns out this is a recipe Bacardi famously included in all of their magazine ads for Mom's to make. So while it's not one of my Mom's personal recipes,  it was still fun to make and eat this weekend. 

Cake: 

1 C. Chopped Pecans or Walnuts (I opted out on this since i'm allergic) 

1 Pkg Yellow Cake Mix

1 3 3/4 oz Vanilla Pudding

4 Eggs

1/2 C. Cold Water

1/2 C. Oil

1/2 C. Dark Bacardi Rum 

Glaze: 

1 Stick Butter

1/4 C. Water

1 C. Sugar

1/2 C. Dark Bacardi Rum

Preheat oven 325 degrees. Grease and flour 10 cup bundt pan. Sprinkle with nuts. Mix all cake ingredients together. Pour over nuts. Bake one hour or until brown. Cool. Invert and prick sides for the glaze to stick. Then drizzle and brush evenly over top & sides. 

I personally sprinkled powered sugar to make it look a little bit prettier, and added fruit along the sides. 

Enjoy! 

5k Music Playlist

 

Photo Credit: From Here

A couple weeks ago, Andy and I ran in a 5k downtown. It was the first of the season, and with very little training, a bit harder then expected (then again it was only 25 degrees out), but I did complete it with no walking. 

 To prepare, I wanted to make sure my music was on point. I'm one of those that tends to run to the beat of the music, so making sure I have a descent playlist to keep me motivated is necessary. I also, tend to want to start walking at certain points so by putting music in an order knowing when I'd slow down really helped.  Here's what I created:

1. Faded - Zhu 

2. Worth It - Fifth Harmony

3. Made In Gold - Nova Rockafeller

4. I Want You To Know - Zedd (feat. Selena Gomez) 

5. Blame - Calvin Harris (feat. John Newman) 

6. Booty - Jennifer Lopez (feat. Iggy Azalea) 

7. Turn Down for What - DJ Snake & Lil Jon

8. You Know You Like It- DJ Snack & AlunaGeorge

9. Break The Rules - Charli XCX

10. Hey Mama - David Guetta (Feat. Nicki Minaj & AfroJack)

11. Delirious - Steve Aoki 

12. Til It Hurts - Yellow Claw (feat. Ayden) 

13. DJ Turn It Up- Yellow Claw 

Happy Running!

Working From Home

On occasion I sometimes have to juice up my work laptop and work from home. You would think normally it would be a dreadful task, because lets be honest you're working. But, I actually quite enjoy it.  We turned one of our bedrooms awhile back into my office, which we made light and airy painting it a light grey.

Since it's my office, and Andy already has his own I was able to purchase furniture that is a little bit more girly, like this not quite zebra or chevron print chair from Homegoods.

 I was also able to organize all my cookbooks and craft supplies, without it looking too crazy or cluttered.

I also was able to put up some chic art that wouldn't make sense being put on display in our house anywhere else. Including this horse head. 

So while isn't always fun working from home,  this space provides a much needed creative outlet and it is definitely more inspiring than my cubicle. 

What do you think of the my office so far? 

Easy Crockpot Chili

With the dip in temperature lately, i've been loving the opportunity to make some of my favorite savory recipes including this easy crockpot chili recipe.  While not the most spicy of recipes, it's sure to become a fan favorite on those lazy Sunday afternoons.

Ingredients: 
Ground Beef, 1 lb (Browned)
Medium Onion, 1/2 onion
Chili Kidney Beans, 1 can
Tomato Sauce, 1 can
Diced Tomatoes, 1 can
Water, 1 cup
Chili Powder, 2 tbsp
Garlic Salt, 1 tsp
Cumin, 1 tsp
Oregano, 1 tsp
Salt & Pepper to taste

Optional:
Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Sour Cream and Crackers.

Take your ground beef, and brown in a skillet. Once completely browned, remove from stove top and drain fat. Combine all ingredients in crockpot with the exception of the optional cheese and sour cream. Set crockpot to high, and let it cook for 3 hours.  Once done, spoon chili into a bowl, top with a dollop of sour cream, sprinkle with cheese, and add crackers.

Homemade Mac 'n Cheese

I've loved mac 'n cheese since as long as I can remember.  Growing up my mom always made it using pasta shells and Velveetta cheese adding a bit of ketchup. After she passed, I got used to the blue box variety but have recently rediscovered my love for the homemade kind, especially after realizing how easy it really is and have literally made it every weekend for the last month.  Here is how I make it, but you can change up the cheeses and make it your own by adding bacon, ham, hot dog.

Ingredients: 

Elbow Pasta, 1/2 lb (cooked) 

Sharp Cheddar Cheese, 1 1/2 cups

Fontina Cheese, 1 1/2 cups

Bread Crumbs, 1 cup

Flour, 1 tbsp

Milk, 1/3 cup

Butter, 2 tbsp

Salt & Pepper to taste

Cook elbow pasta as recommended. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set aside pasta but reusing the same pot, mix together the 1 tbsp butter, milk, and flour. Once combined and butter has melted, add in cheeses stirring them in slowly until all the cheese has melted. Then add back in the pasta. Mix together until all is covered. 

Then place mac 'n cheese in either a 9 x 13' baking dish or individual ramekin dishes. Once set, take the remaining 1 tbsp butter and melt in a microwave safe container, once melted add bread crumbs and stir until combined. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top of mac n' cheese.

Place mac 'n cheese into oven until golden brown (about 20 or so minutes) depending on oven and choice of baking dish. 

To accelerate the browning process, sometimes i'll turn the oven to broil on hi. 

Enjoy! 

Meet Teddy!

Meet Teddy! The newest addition to our household.  He is a Maltese/Yorkie/Poodle mix or as people like to call them Morkie Poo's.

I'd been talking about getting Lincoln a sibling for over a year, and got more serious about it once we moved into our house. I could tell Lincoln was lonely and we had so much space. Andy would go back and forth but came to the conclusion we really didn't need another puppy.

As I was heading up to Northern Michigan we passed the exit for the breeder in which we got Lincoln, I couldn't help be think there might be a chance she had puppies. With a few wine tastings into my system, I sent her a quick text and she called to let me know that she hadn't had puppies for some time but had some that she was going to list for sale the next day, with the same father as our other pup Lincoln. It was fate.

I called Andy in which I was told that I could not bring a puppy home, regardless if I felt the stars had aligned. He should probably have known by now that I tend to be a bit stubborn, and was going to bring a puppy home anyway, but I guess he gave me the benefit of the doubt.

Needless to say less than 48 hours later, I came home with Teddy. Andy instantly fell in love and the rest is history.

Hello!

Whelp! It's been awhile. I admit, I've been M.I.A. in all facts of life. The new job has kept me somewhat busy, but even more so the craziness that becomes of the weekend and then before you know it, it's Monday.  Hopefully I'll be more regular with my writing, after all this is suppose to be a public diary of how i'm turning my house into a home but i'll be honest,  the last two months, we haven't done much of anything. 

Instead of investing into a renovation, we decided to go on a trip to Washington D.C. for our Anniversary. I'd say it was well worth it, I think Andy was in heaven.  But, now that the weather is starting to turn I feel that our to do list is growing by the minute. 

Ideally I'd like to clean out a few flower beds before the snow falls, remove and trim a few trees in the yard, paint the last two rooms that need some fresh paint, replace our existing garage door and upgrade our fireplace to gas. While the list seems small, we really don't have a budget set away to do it all, so the next few months will be a test on how to save.  We'll also share how that works out for us.  

In the meantime be sure to check back for updates. 

End of Summer Bucket List

Planner: Kate Spade | Notebook: Kate Spade | Monogrammed Candle: C.Wonder |  Paper Organizer: Target 

It's crazy to think that it's August let alone some people are already back-to-school. It feels like summer just started yesterday, and i'm a little bummed I have yet to achieve a serious sun tan. 

But while the days of 80+ degree weather is limited, i've created my own little bucket list of things i'd like to do before it starts to get too cold. 

1.) Visit the beach
2.) Go boating .. a few more times ;) 
3.) Run a 5k 
4. ) Wine tasting in Northern Michigan
5.)  Go somewhere new and exciting
6.) Take an extended bike ride around town
7.) See a concert in the park
8.) Try something new from the Farmers Market
9.) Take a nap outside
10.) Visit a U-Pick Strawberry Farm

What do you have on your bucket list of things to do before summer ends?

Outdoor Living - Part 2

So yesterday, I shared how awesome our yard was this spring, fresh from the melting snow. Since then we've removed all the weeds, ivy, leaves  and roots from overgrown trees. We then added new plants, patio furniture, mulch and grass (which is still a work in progress in some areas.) 

And yes that little black statue thing in the far right of the photo above came with the house. We didn't discover him until the snow melted. He's  a creepy/scary gargoyle but we've come to love and affectionately call him Goyle. As we've read they are to scare away demons from our home. So we've kept him for good luck and so far no problems. 

furniture & pillows: lowes 

When it came to patio furniture, the possibilities are endless, but so many options are super expensive. I searched high and low for something affordable and when we stumbled upon this set at Lowes, I couldn't have been happier. For the two couches, two chairs, and table we only spent $400. 

The pillows were $13 each, and the seat cushions ranged from $15-20 a piece costing a  grand total of $148. All said and done - $548 and some change wasn't that bad compared to some of the other similar sets that were almost double the price. What also helped is that we could buy this set in chunks, opting to only get the two chairs and one couch first and then deciding we liked it enough to complete it at a later date, which took away the sting it could have left on our bank account. 

In addition to the patio furniture, my father in-law agreed to create this console table using directions I can no longer find online to replicate a similar Pottery Barn Console.  I still need to stain it, but all said and done this bad boy cost only $50 where the PB version costs $700.  As a side note, this was made just in time for my birthday party, and it made for an awesome bar. 

While we still have a ways to go, our yard is starting to come together and makes for a great spot for entertaining or to sit back and relax. 

Outdoor Living - Part 1

So, hey guys check out our amazing backyard, it's so pretty! Aren't you impressed with it? Haha, just kidding! These photos are from this spring, after the snow finally melted (in May) and showed that yes life did exist in our yard the year prior, and there may be hope at the end of the tunnel. 

This photo was taken after we had already started the removal of some pretty intense half dead rose plants.  As you can see we inherited a descent sized deck with a pergola, some storage (about 7 trash cans)  & a (very) active bird house. 

The previous owners loved ivy, and had it in almost EVERY single flower bed. It was a real gem to take out. In addition, they hadn't removed ANY of the leaves from the fall, so we got to pick those up too. 

 The deck is in descent shape, but some boards are starting to show their age and warp. We think we have about one-two seasons left out of them before we will just go ahead and replace all of them. 

So who's ready to see the transformation? 

Bright White

When we first moved into our house, we knew that we had to do something to this 1970's fireplace, but we couldn't decide what. We were a bit torn, and our friends weren't much help, some people loved it as is, others agreed we needed to paint it. We gave it a good six months, and then I couldn't take it any longer we had to do something. As the picture above shows, we had lots of issues with this whole set up, too many cords, soot stains that wouldn't go away, discolored bricks from the previous owners etc. 

After searching the internet high and low, I convinced Andy to let me white wash it. From what I read it wouldn't take much paint, and was relatively easy. Someone said it took them all of 30 minutes. 

After finishing the whole bottom half, I stepped back and decided I actually hated it, and Andy agreed. It just had this unfinished texture to the brick, that I didn't love. So we decided to paint the entire thing. At this point I slightly regretted the idea of painting the fireplace because it took forever, multiple coats, and lots of elbow grease. 

But then it started to look pretty, and I liked it better once the mantel & the hearth were painted.  For those wondering the bricks and mantel were painted in Alabaster by Sherwin Williams, and the black used on the hearth is just a heat resistant flat black spray paint from Lowes. 

And here it is with the room not yet decorated, but at least somewhat put together.We still have quite a bit to do, curtains, new window treatments (the current blinds are hideous), hide the wires, new rug, new furniture, add artwork, potentially new flooring, etc. So look for more updates soon! 

So what do you think? 

Washington D.C. Bound

Photo Credit

Our anniversary is just a few weeks away, and I am so excited for the trip Andy and I have planned to Washington D.C. Andy is a Political Science Guru/History Buff/Future Lawyer, so D.C. is like a children's playground for him. That and he knows everything when it comes to our nation's capital, so it'll be like having my own personal tour guide. 

Besides the museum's and monuments I'm really excited for the food. There are so many great restaurants to try I'm not sure how we will fit them all in.  

For those that have been to D.C. any favorites? 

Garage Sale Find

A few weeks ago while hosting our own garage sale, I caught another one down the road and saw this desk for sale. The owner was asking $20 and reassured me of the craftsmanship I'd find in the wood and blah, blah blah.  Truthfully I was looking for something I could "white wash" and then put into my "office" that i'll probably never use,  but hey it was $20, and I was excited for a new project.  So without thinking twice I took it home.

Andy was excited to start on it (I could see the excitement in his eyes, but not really), and we quickly did a search on Pinterest to see how other people "white washed" their furniture. Once we came to an educated consensus on how it appears to be done we ended purchased these supplies:

(1) 14 oz of White Paint w/ Primer 
(1) 8 oz can of Miniwax Clear Finishing Wax
(1) Three Sheet of 120 Grade Sanding Paper
(1) Tube of Wood Filler - We used Elmers

We Already Had:
(1) Paint Brush
(1) Cup to put paint in
Water

Before starting any major wood project we like to dab wood filler in to help make any rough spots, a bit more level.  For this desk, while it had exceptional quality it did need a little bit of repair in a few spots.

Once our Wood Filler dried we we're ready to go we sanded down the entire desk, making sure to remove the previous glue gun spills and marker that although hardly there once existed on the desk.

We then created the "white wash" or one part paint, three part water mixture. Depending on the look you are trying to attain you can make this thinner or thicker by adding more of either water or paint, we then let this dry. (Note: If you make your mixture really watery make sure to check the edges for pooling because once it's dry, it's just a blob and doesn't look very pretty)

Next, Andy got to join in and sand the edges, and make it look "weathered."  When I had the chance to examine it after the fact, I wasn't that thrilled NOT because Andy didn't do a great job, he did, but because I didn't like the color underneath that was coming through, so I did a second coat over it.

Once dry, we put a light coat of the Finishing Wax all over the desk, the directions ask that you put the coat on and then wait 10-15 minutes to then come back and polish. We did that, and to be honest couldn't tell a huge difference.

When it came to put the knobs in, I had originally purchased these gorgeous glass knobs with gold detail, however because of how thick the original holes were that would have taken a lot of wood filler, we decided to spray paint the previous ones gold, and use them. I used Rustolem Spray Paint in Gold (which I use for a lot of things.)

So here is the finished product. What do you think?