I’M AN OFFICIAL WRITER FOR NICKMOM.COM!

WOOO! I’m so excited to join another awesome team of writers. If you haven’t checked out NickMom.com before you totally should… it’s a hilarious blog for moms. My first post is about how puppies and toddlers are pretty much interchangeable. Believe me, I’m speaking from experience!

I took a whirlwind trip up to my old stompin’ grounds, NYC, this past weekend. I {heart} that city. I could never live there again, especially now that I have a child, but the rush of adrenaline I get when I step out into the NYC air is indescribable and never felt anywhere else. Can’t you just feel all the dreams coming true?!

NYC and I had a 9 month love affair. Alas, she was too expensive for me and my $10 an hour music industry job.

I miss thee, En Why See.

Okay, enough about my favorite city. Here’s your recipe. It’s DELICIOUS! Molly broke my crockpot (don’t even ask) so I am currently crockpotless. I want to make this again so bad. Maybe I’ll run out and pick another one up this weekend. Yes, I think I may.

Slow Cooker Chicken Chili

• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1 (16 ounce) jar salsa – don’t make it too spicy!
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 (11 ounce) can corn
• 1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can northern beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans

Directions:

1. Place chicken and salsa in the slow cooker the night before you want to eat this chili (or in the morning the day of). Season with garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Cook 6 to 8 hours on Low setting.
2. About 3 to 4 hours before you want to eat, shred the chicken with 2 forks. Return the meat to the pot, and continue cooking.
3. Stir the corn and the beans into the slow cooker. Simmer until ready to serve. Top with some cheeeeeese!

Soooo easy and soooo delish! NOM NOM!

Today I’m guest posting over at Little Miss Nerd Girl. YAY! I know I haven’t gotten deep with y’all yet, but it’s a little glimpse into my life and where I’m at today compared to a year ago. Let’s just say I’m in a much better place.

I will be back later today for InstaFriday if all goes well with my cakes (fingers crossed!).

CAKEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSS rule my life.

Every Valentine’s Day my husband and I make a yummy dinner and a decadent dessert. However, this year we ended up going out to dinner over the weekend while my sister babysat and we didn’t ever discuss what to make on VDay. I decided to surprise Ben with these cupcakes! (I also made Turkey & White Bean Chili… recipe for another day). He almost left me to marry these cupcakes. They are THAT good.

He took them into work today and already IMed me at 8:15am to tell me how much everyone loves my cupcakes. So, if you need to wow someone then I highly suggest making these! They are chocolatey, moist and have the perfect amount of pumpkin flavor. Warning – if you are against using cake mixes than this recipe isn’t for you, but seriously you should get over that because these cupcakes are worth it!

Double Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes  by Picky Palate

• 1 box devils food cake mix
• 1 small box instant chocolate pudding
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 15 ounce can pumpkin (reserving 2 Tablespoons for buttercream)
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and prepare your cupcake trays with liners.

2. In a stand or electric mixer, place cake mix, pudding mix, oil, buttermilk, eggs, sour cream, can of pumpkin and chocolate chips. Mix all ingredients until well combined, about 1 to 2 minutes. Divide batter evenly into cupcake liners. Be careful not to overfill! Bake for 15-20 mins. I suggest setting the timer to 15 mins and then testing with a toothpick. Do not over bake! My oven took 18 mins for perfect cupcakes!

Pumpkin Spice Buttercream

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons reserved pumpkin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 to 5 cups powdered sugar
• 2 to 4 tablespoons milk

Place butter, pumpkin and cinnamon into stand or electric mixer. Mix on high until well combined. Slowly add the powdered sugar until thick and creamy. Slowly add the milk until buttercream is a nice consistency. Frost over cooled cupcakes.

Double Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes with Pumpkin Spice Buttercream

YUM!! Recipe to come tomorrow!

This latest project I’m sharing, however, is yet to be hung… just need to attach some brackets and it will be ready. However, I was too excited about to it wait.

I have no idea when we acquired this paper towel holder. I know it was my mother-in-law’s, but I do not know if Ben brought it with him when he moved up here or if it somehow made its way into the box of things for Molly’s room she gave us back when we were decorating. Either way, it’s been sitting in the closet taking up space.

Well, I have a lot of craft stuff and pretty much no organization to it whatsoever. It’s been driving me bonkers! So one day a light bulb went off and I started putting some craft things on this paper towel holder. I wasn’t a big fan of the natural wood, so I took some of the paint my mother-in-law put in my stocking (she knows me too well) and freshened it up! It now matches our bedspread and I got Ben’s approval to hang it on the wall by my craft table!! YESSS!

I LOVE Instagr.am. Like, obsessed. I did the January Photo a Day Challenge and I’ve continued on to the February edition. However, I’m so behind! I’m only on Day 7 and today is Day 10. Oops!

You can also follow my photo documentation on my Facebook page!

Well, I promised you pics! You can see them all, including the Before & After, over at Whispers & Shouts. What are you waiting for? Go check them out!

Well, hey there SuperNoVa Mom readers!  My name is Kelly and I eat, drink, and write over at The Key of Kels.  Nikki and I were sorority sisters back in college, and have since reunited over our love of writing about all things delicious (I am a bartender and my husband is a chef — which means I’m also really, really well-fed).  I am an East Coast girl as well, hailing from Maryland, and I have semi-recently relocated to sunny Los Angeles.  Being a food lover, I recognize that here in California we are so lucky to have year round access to fresh, local produce that my husband and I get to eat, cook and create with.  This makes for some super delicious meals around my house, and I thought today I’d share one of my recent recipes with you all!

See?  Mixology is pretty awesome.  You’re gonna be hooked.

I have recently been incredibly inspired by our Wednesday trips to the local Santa Monica Farmer’s Market, which is just starting to pop with the flavors and colors of spring.  I know, I know, the groundhog said 6 more weeks… but don’t give in!  I bet even you all back east have some spring produce slowly creeping back into your grocery stores.  So go out and grab a couple quarts of whatever fresh berries you can get your hands on and whip up some of this super easy compote – a fancy word for puree that my husband just taught me today…

Blackberry Compote

3 quarts of berries (I used 2 qts Blackberries & 1qt Blueberries.  You could also use Strawberries, Raspberries, or whatever berries are ripe and flavorful in your area.)

1/4 cup sugar (more or less to taste)

1/4 cup water

1 Lemon (juiced)

Combine the Berries, Sugar, Water, and Lemon Juice in a saucepan.

Bring to a simmer.

Let simmer for about 15 minutes.  Smash the berries with a spoon, muddler or potato masher.

Once cooled, use an immersion blender to get a smooth and easily pourable consistency.

Viola!

Now for the boozy part.  Want a killer Valentine’s Day Martini?  Try this:

Berry-Tini

1 ounce Blackberry Compote

2 ounces Charbay Pomegranate Vodka

1/2 ounce Chambord Liqueur

Pour all ingredients into a tumbler over ice.

Shake well then strain into a martini glass.

Garnish with a fresh berry skewer.

This Compote would also be amazing simply mixed into a glass of Prosecco or shaken with vodka and mint leaves then topped with soda water over ice.

Yep.  I may have tried all three.  And they were all delicious.

But I do also have to keep in mind that many people (including my lovely husband) don’t drink alcohol and may still want to partake in my experiments, so I have also found plenty of tasty non-alcoholic uses for this Blackberry Compote of mine.

My husband mixed the compote into soda water for a homemade “Italian Soda”.  Then he literally said, “Oh my God, this is good.”

I love when I can make a chef say that.  Success!

For breakfast this morning, I swirled it into a bit of Vanilla Greek Yogurt for a little bit of a fruity twist.  Beautiful and delicious.

Last night, I drizzled it like syrup over chocolate pudding (ice cream would also be awesome) for a decadent dessert.

I also swirled it on top of my super secret, passed-down, incredible brownie recipe, which I didn’t think could get any better.

It did get better.  Oh. My. Gosh.

Anyway, the point here is that the possibilities are endless with this stuff.  Reduce it with some Balsamic Vinegar for a killer sauce for a Pork Tenderloin.  Swirl it into a poundcake batter to give it a blackberry twist.  Mix it with vinegar, oil, salt and pepper and maybe a touch of dijon mustard for a berry-fied salad dressing.

All this from a little martini fun.

So get creative!  Have fun while you’re at it, and eat deliciously.  Thank you so much for having me, Nikki!!  And come on over and visit me at The Key of Kels for more of all things delicious anytime!

OMG. I want all of those delicious goodies, especially those brownies. Kelly posted them on Instagr.am last night and I was legit ready to buy a flight out to LA. I wish we lived closer!