1. It seriously amazes me how rainbow sprinkles completely change a boring vanilla cone. Is it all in my head? A mental thing? It’s real.

2. I have not been able to get this cheesy dish out of my head all week.

3. Walk the Line was on Sunday night, therefore reminding me why it’s the BEST MOVIE IN THE UNIVERSE.

4. Have you ever had a pair of pants that are your most favorite pants ever and you don’t put them in the dryer when you do laundry and then one time when you’re not paying attention you accidentally throw them in only to find out later when folding laundry that you may need to eat 10 less cookies just to fit into them? Wah. Me either.

5. Last week I somehow discovered that Connie Britton was making the rounds on late night shows (like Jimmy Kimmel) and ended up DVRing every single one and watching them multiple times. Still haven’t deleted them either. As if I couldn’t adore her more! And her hair… oomph. ughhhhh Nashville please don’t evereverever end. Or take a break.

6. Cannot get enough of this song, along with Sheryl Crow’s utter hotness. I hope I look half that good at 51. We talk about this (this being her gorgeousness) in our house at least once a week and I have my husband to than for blasting that song on repeat over the last few weeks.

7. I’m most excited about Memorial Day for the fact that I have an excuse to eat more than one hot dog in a sitting. Don’t see #4.

8. I’m not a huge chocolate + raspberry fan but I freak out over strawberry + chocolate and I’m currently really into loaves (loafs?) so this… right up my alley.

9. This is the 100th Tuesday Things and well, I just have to say that I really love you a lot. Forever evah.

©2012 How Sweet It Is

This is one of them!

Can I say stoked? I’ve probably used the word thrice in my life, the third being above. I’m trying it out for size.

This salad… ugh. So good. I’ve rambled about my love for chopped salads for years on this little internet page. I don’t know what it is. The crunch of vegetables turns me off so maybe it’s just that everything is smaller and tiny and can be picked up in one spoon?

I think what it really is though.. is that I can use tortilla chips to eat this salad. Now THAT is where it’s at. I’m so into it.

The salad has so many of my favorite flavors going on – bacon, feta, avocado, corn – that I kept the dressing simple: just some olive oil and lime juice. Lots of salt and pepper too, but other than that, just pure flavor. Even a little arugula mixed in with my beloved butter lettuce for something extra.

On top of needing the majority of my salads in chopped form, I sure as heck need as much texture (like, non-vegetable texture) that I can get. Enter bacon. And corn. And if you’re feeling frisky… maybe crumble some of those tortilla chips on top.

Uh huh. Do it.

Take that Monday.

©2012 How Sweet It Is

You can find the recipe for these fluffy little cakes on the Tasty Kitchen blog. I’m sort of freaking out.

©2012 How Sweet It Is

Way too quickly.

It surprisingly wasn’t a one day process. I made it and we ate it that afternoon (we, meaning only two of us and a little bit of my husband but not enough to make a dent) with nearly an entire bag of chips. So adultlike.

It was fabulous. What a story.

Then last night (after a big walk… like, exercise) … we did it again.

Reheated it with extra beer.

And finished it.

Yep.

But apparently this was needed because… are you even serious Grey’s Anatomy?

©2012 How Sweet It Is

Pretty sure it’s because I get super weird about cookies in the Spring. It’s like I make tons of them over the holidays and then am totally cookied out. Well – at least cookied out to the point of baking them. I sure do eat my fair share, but the thought of baking them is the last thing on Earth I want to do. I mean, I made the cookie s’mores but those were totally store-bought cookies. It happens.

Like lots of other people, I can be oddly picky about my cookies. I don’t loathe store-bought, but if they actually TASTE like store-bought? Then yeah, gross. Chocolate chip cookies are probably my favorite but also the most frequent offenders of not always being delicious. If I want a cookie, I want a good cookie. Or like ten good cookies. You know what I mean.

The thing is though, that I almost always love every single peanut butter cookie that I taste. Probably because it can be challenging to mess that one up – sugar, peanut butter, butter, maybe some flour… can’t go wrong. They are soft but dense. Major hearts.

A few years ago I made some pb & j cookies… but they were kind of cop out cookies. Like pb cookies with j on top. Or simply sandwiched inside. These ones? We’ve got the j swirled inside the dough. Yes, I actually used my hands and a rather large spoon and smashed some preserves inside my peanut butter cookie dough. It was a sticky mess and 100% worth it. AND.

I used grown up j. Yes I did. At least grown up j for… well, me. And my family.

I was burnt out of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches by kindergarten but my brothers still ate them for years. We’ve never passed go, never collected $200 and definitely never ventured outside of jarred grape jelly. Or strawberry, if I ever got my way. (Which was often since if you haven’t picked up, I’m a brat.)

My husband is totally the same way, still. As in, TODAY. He doesn’t stray from grape and maybe, just maybe, when we’re in Michigan each summer I can convince him to try some other favorites at American Spoon, but never combined with peanut butter.

So this is my grown up j, for myself.

Dried figs are one of my favorite snacks. I fell into them accidentally when a (very… annoying… it’s true? you have them too.) coworker gave me one years and years and years ago. Up until then, my only fig interaction came from fig newtons, which I didn’t even care for. Maybe at some point I pretended that they were healthy cookies or something but then you just realize… the jig is up. These are not cookies AND they kind of taste like crap. And that was that.

So after discovering how much I loved dried figs, I discovered things like fig butter and fig jam and fig everything.

Then I basically freaked the heck out and binged on all things fig.

I was pathetically sheltered and naive for most of my life. Wouldn’t have it any other way though.

Anyway, to sort-of-but-not-really completely change subjects, I rarely eat in the morning before I workout but if I feel especially drained, I’ll have a few figs and occasionally even spread some peanut butter on them. (I also think in constant run-on sentences.) It’s like the grown up version of my fruit + peanut butter go-to that I’ve been eating all my life. It’s also my perfect afternoon pick me up.

And these are the cookie version. Pre-workout cookies? I think so. Let’s do that.

I like it!

©2012 How Sweet It Is

This is what you get when you combine a few ingredients (chives, cream cheese) that you don’t really care about: something wildly delicious.

I am alllll over them.

What? Doesn’t everybody cut their mini biscuits with an amaretto bottle top?

After patting out my dough, I realized that I didn’t have something mini to make my oh-so mini biscuits. I ran around like a wild woman for a few moments before looking at all the booze in the bar and deciding that yes, this top on the amaretto bottle will work just fine.

Twenty minutes later I realized I could have used something like the lid from one of my spices, such as smoked paprika or cumin or whatever but… oh well. This gave me an excuse for a cocktail.

Like we need an excuse.

So. I think I now enjoy mini biscuits better than regular biscuits. Not only can you eat more (mini = eat as many as you want, calorie free, duh) but you can just pop ‘em in your mouth! And they are perfect for side dishes and things like soups and stews and summery salads. Like biscuit croutons if you will.

You know, I don’t even think I ate real biscuits until I was a teenager? They were one of my favorite things but not something my mom would make often. Unless we are talking about Grands in a can… which ummm, I still sort of love. Not gonna lie. But back in the day, I was biscuitless. And we’re talking for most of my life. Long ago. Like the days when I thought Comic Sans was a professionally acceptable font.

Just no.

I made these little biscuits because they come as part of one of my favorite local restaurants’ bread baskets. And I am not a bread basket gal. You should know that by now. I can totally take it or leave it unless it is GOOD bread. But this… this is bread stuffed with soft whipped cream cheese. The little buttons practically melt in your mouth. I think I single-handedly consumed like 25 of them.

Minis for the win.

I tried to take a bite picture for you buuuut… I just kept eating them.

©2012 How Sweet It Is

1. A few weeks ago when I made these trashy chocolate chip cookie s’mores, I gave my mom the leftover marshmallows so I wouldn’t eat myself to death. She has seriously been talking about them ever since, even asking at once point if she thought I could make coconut marshmallows? So that’s what I did for Mother’s Day: coconut marshmallows dipped in milk chocolate and toasted coconut.

2. There has been a long running tale about this sandwich on my dad’s side of the family for, well… as long as I can remember. Long before I came along. I think my grandpa still eats one every now and then. So glad we’re aren’t alone.

3. I got a new phone on Saturday afternoon and by Sunday morning it was already doused in flour and half destroyed. I also am very curious with how much I talk about food – WHY does autocorrect insist on changing every single “food” to “good?” I’m sure it’s some subliminal message but it’s annoying as heck. In other news, I have developed actual feelings for a piece of technology. Oh and someone please tell me about cute iPhone cases. I not-so-secretly want the gold brass knuckles one but is that trashy? Uh huh.

4. I was half tempted to rename this Tuesday TV Things. First up, I’m losing my mind over Nashville and this darn show better be on for 10 seasons. Can they please dress Scarlett in something cuter and not rip her and Gunnar apart already? Also, I don’t care if you love or hate Hayden P-Ican’tsayyourlastname but she rocks that role. And I’m still on a mission to make Connie B my BFF. And I’ve watched last week’s episode every day. PEOPLE! There is only so much music you can listen to when you’re working all day long by yourself.

5. Now on to Grey’s Anatomy: I hate you and you suck. You’ve been ridiculously terrible all season, but OF COURSE AS USUAL you are going to have the universe explode in the season finale and I am undoubtedly hooked. Secretly I just watch because I want to run my hands through Patrick Dempsey’s hair.

6. Finally, I still watch Mad Men every week because 1. I want to be cool like everyone else and 2. I hate going to bed on Sunday nights but seriously? I DON’T GET IT.

7. 43 things that will make you feel old. I really just like #37. Additionally: Luke Perry for life.

8. I know my buffalo chicken infatuation isn’t that far removed from the blog, but I’m actually getting concerned about it. I ordered buffalo chicken pizza from the same place three times in the last week. The good news is that it’s really easy for them to find my house now.

9. Can’t even take these little macarons. She makes is look so easy! I’d definitely have a nervous breakdown making a batch. And I don’t really love oreos by themselves, but I freak out over all things cookies and cream. Want.

10. Yesterday I made this three times and the same thing happened almost every time. Is that the definition of insanity? I am great at following directions! Not.

11. This is the 99th Tuesday Things. I can’t believe I’ve been annoying 99 weeks in a row.

©2012 How Sweet It Is

If you’ve read this blog for, oh, like five minutes you might just know that Target is my Disneyworld. I’m like a kid in a candy store. Sometimes literally. The amount of chocolate I purchase there borderlines on insane. So I was just a weeeee bit thrilled when given the chance to partner with them and throw together some quick treats using Archer Farms products.

Full deets: I was given a Target gift card (um… yeah) to purchase whatever Archer Farms products my little heart desired. Now, let’s really talk about being a kid in a candy store. Oh my gosh. That shopping trip may have been the best day of 2013 so far. The only thing was… I was a bit concerned – while I adore my local Targets, they don’t have GIANT selections when it comes to food. So I knew my options may be a little slim… but I was making it happen.

First up, I nearly died when I found some edamame in the freezer section. Half the time I can’t even find it at my grocery store and have to trek to a speciality grocer. I thawed these little green beauties… then I sort of fried them. Yep, I definitely fried them. I made sure they were super dry then added about two or three tablespoons of canola oil to a hot skillet. After tossing the edamame until golden and slightly crispy, I seasoned it with grated parmesan and black pepper.

Then I ate it. This might be my new favorite snack, for real.

I’m one of those people that has a cereal addiction, meaning I could eat bowl after bowl and never get sick of it. I have an ongoing love affair with the Archer Farms granola (before I was married I occasionally survived on this for days), and here I just made some (slightly boring but seriously delicious) little greek yogurt parfaits. I chose my two favorite flavors: the strawberry flax and the vanilla almond crunch and whipped the vanilla yogurt until it was really creamy. I threw some fresh strawberries in there too and my brother and I ended up fixated on these things. I have no idea what makes granola, yogurt and fruit taste so wonderful when it’s layered.

It’s the little things.

Next, I used some of the Archer Farms gnocchi and pesto cream sauce to make a creamy caprese pasta salad. What I loved about this is that you can serve it warm or cold. After tossing together one package of the cooked gnocchi with about half a jar of the pesto cream, I folded in a pint of halved grape tomatoes, some fresh mozzarella pearls and tons of basil, salt and pepper. This.was.fantastic.

I was a weird child and loathed most pasta, but gnocchi was always my go-to. Wasn’t totally sure how it could work in a “pasta salad” but… digging it. Recreating this in a million ways this summer.

Above are some quick + dirty ideas. First up: put some chips on your sandwich. I am not kidding. I think we’ve talked about this before? I’ve been putting potato chips on my sandwiches since I was maybe six years old and it takes life to a whole new level. Next week, we’re going to make a grilled cheese with potato chips, oh yes we are. And yes, WE.

One of my most purchased products at Target are easily their kettle cooked potato chips. so.freaking.good. My standard chip is the perfect salt ‘n vinegar one… but I also go a little crazy for their smokey bbq cheddar chips and their buffalo wing chips. The latter two are what’s on those sandwiches. Uh huh. They also have some sweet thai chips… wowza. They used to have hummus chips which were out of this world. I can no longer find them. It’s devastating.

I had a minor panic attack when I found the summer salsa above -  it contains, strawberries, pineapple and kiwi and well, you know how I am about fruit salsas. I threw some inside the Archer Farms whole wheat tortillas along with a bunch of freshly grated cheddar and grilled those suckers. Fruit and cheese… yes. This salsa is still on the savory side so it just works.

The salt and lime corn chips – which my dad renamed “salt and lime fritos” – are the perfect dippers for guac. No really… not sure I’ve have a better chip inside my smashed green stuff.

I saved the best for last. Obviously.

These flipping cookies. Please tell me you’ve tried them? White chocolate amaretto wafers – they practically melt in your mouth. This was my favorite product out of everything I bought and by far the most popular. We all went a little crazy. I stuffed the insides with some plain vanilla ice cream and rolled about a third of each sandwich in sprinkles. Just when I thought the cookies couldn’t get any better, they became covered with melted ice cream. Goodness.

I’m going and buying more of these today. I foresee a serious issue arising.

Finally, I made some mocha coconut macaroon milkshakes! Oomph.

Ever since I‘ve been trying to learn to love coffee, Archer Farms has been my favorite brand because they have insane flavors that I go nuts for.  I made some of the coconut macaroon in my french press, then let it chill a bit in the fridge. I filled the bottom of these glasses with some chocolate fudge syrup, then blended together the coffee, a ton of vanilla ice cream, a little ice and some extra coconut. Topped it all off with obnoxious piles of whipped cream and toasted coconut. Done for.

Annnnd that’s a wrap. I’m crazy over some of these products now so I am dying to know: favorite Archer Farms product? I am also wild about their trail mixes (best ever), nuts (they have a smoky bbq mix that is freakishly good), peanut butters, granola bars and fruit strips. They are like grown up fruit roll-ups. Everyone wins.

©2012 How Sweet It Is

So pretty! So green! So salty!

I’m easily amused. Also, aggressive exclamation points.

It all started with pistachio gelato. Cannot get enough. At all. Which is insane because who the heck wants nuts in their ice cream? Not I. It then warped into some weird infatuation with wanting pistachios inside of other things, like even baked goods. And you know that I hate nuts in my treats. I stand firm that nuts belong in a cute bowl on your coffee table. Not in your cookies.

Oh but you know what? In the midst of my pistachio freakout a few months ago, I made these killer pistachio chocolate chip cookies over Easter weekend – like I ground the pistachios into a pretty green powder so they flavored the cookies but didn’t give you the unfavorable nut crunch. (I am five years old and am now giggling.) No one wants that in their cookies. Right? So I did that. Ummm yeeeeah. Incredibly delicious and made even the nuts-in-cookies haters happy.

Then I forgot the recipe. Didn’t write it down. Well, maybe I did write it down but in my sea of paper scraps – it is lost for good. My own kitchen needs a lost and found. It’s seriously pathetic. I have lists on my phone and scattered in notebooks all over the house. I much prefer to write my lists with pen and paper (because, well, I just love to physically WRITE) but sometimes the phone is all I’ve got. The Notes section of my iPhone is a jumbled mess of meaningless nothings. My car is trashed with little scraps of paper that I like to call grocery lists and forget on my front seat when I go to the store. It’s like I am physically incapable of removing those little paper pieces from my car. Those and water bottles.

My backseat is where half-full and very empty water bottles go to die. This may be grounds for divorce.

So pesto. You know, I am weird about this stuff. My favorite version is made with arugula but I thought that may overpower these cute little green nuts. A few months ago I made a triple herb kale pesto that just made me feel excellent since it contained about four days worth of my vegetable consumption. But then again… I feel that way about anything that is green.

I seared some chicken to the point where it was almost caramely. Super golden and even a little crispy on the outside. I cover the chicken in the pesto, but also tossed just the tiniest bit into the pasta with some red pepper flakes. I don’t suggest adding a ton to the spaghetti – you don’t want to get pesto-ed out. This way you have just a hint of it in your noodles and a lot of extra room for inappropriate amounts of cheese.

As it should be.

I like you.

©2012 How Sweet It Is

And yes… that is what we are talking about today. Hot dogs.

Since I’ve become a grown up (the age at which this happened is quite debatable), I’ve held a firm stance on hot dogs. I absofreakinglutely love them, but in severe moderation. We are talking, like, three or four perfect hot dogs per summer, spread out so I have time to really crave them. Maybe one per month? I also don’t tend to enjoy things masquerading as hot dogs, such as sausages and stuff. If I want a hot dog… I want a hot dog. And that’s just how it’s been.

Then.

After I made about sixty new years resolutions (not really), my cousin and I finished off some after holiday shopping back in early January. It was that day when she introduced me to a loaded hot dog from Five Guys, complete with sautéed mushrooms, grilled onions, bacon, cheese, ketchup, mustard and relish. Yes. I put things on my hot dog that I never thought I’d consume. Ever.  It was hands down the best hot dog I have ever had, even being all trashed up.

However, I was under the impression that while my trashed up hot dog was fabulous, I’d still enjoy a good, old-fashioned plain hot dog with mustard only and a side of chips. The trashed up hot dog would probably be a one time thing… even a once per year thing.

I could not have been more wrong.

I had one more crazy hot dog from Five Guys back in March before deciding that I HAD to make my own. I forced myself to practice patience because I knew I wanted to share said trashy hot dogs with my invisible internet friends, but when it’s snowing in April, it’s not exactly prime hot dog grilling weather. So I suffered and took one for the team. Meaning I tested hot dogs with various toppings for a few weeks straight until I deemed it warm enough on the East coast to share these things.

Originally I had planned on tossing these your way a bit closer to the Memorial Day, but with Mother’s Day coming this weekend I’ve determined that it’s high time for hot dog cookout weather. High maintenance hot dog cookout weather, that is. Plus, like two weeks ago I was running errands and my day called me to say that he was grilling hot dogs, and did I want one?

Um, of course I wanted one. I took a major detour just to go have a hot dog. So it’s time.

I promise that the high maintenance dog is worth it. It’s covered in white cheddar cheese, juicy garlic mushrooms, honey caramelized onions, crispy fried bacon and your fair share of condiments. Trust me… if you don’t typically enjoy condiments on a hot dog, you probably will now. Things are different when your hot dog is covered in a two inch pile of deliciousness.

I understand that you may be freaking out over the amount of work that is now going into a simple party staple, but here’s the deal. 1. It’s totally worth it, for sure. 2. This can turn into even more fun – like a big bad hot dog bar. Not just ketchup anymore! Now you can make the mushrooms and onions ahead of time and set everything up beforehand, warming the ingredients if desired before people go crazy. and 3. you could actually assemble your hot dogs ahead of time, throwing on topping after topping then wrapping them in tightly in foil – almost like a cheesesteak (autocorrected to “cheesecake.” obviously.). To serve, throw them on the grill or in a warm over for a few minutes. It’s as simple as that and yeah… the only way I’ll eat a hot dog now. And I gotta admit, I’m a little partial to my own version over Five Guys.

But I’m kind of a brat so that’s to be expected.

This makes me want to have a hot dog eating contest.

©2012 How Sweet It Is