Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Wishing lots of blessings today from our family to yours! 

"I will praise God’s name in song
    and glorify Him with thanksgiving."

Psalm 69:30

Thanksgiving Prep {Part Two} -Setting the Table-

Hello everyone! Hope you are having a lovely Wednesday! Thanksgiving is tomorrow, I can hardly wait. Today, I wanted to share a few table setting ideas to add the perfect touch to your Thanksgiving. Let me know your thoughts! 

Thanksgiving Prep {Part One} -The Perfect Pie & Other Quick Desserts-

Hello everyone! Hope you are having a fabulous Monday! Thanksgiving is just days away, can you believe it? Today I thought I'd share some ideas to help you make the perfect pie. Blow your friends and family away by trying some of these creative pies! Also, at the end of this pie post, I added some recipes for those who aren't pie lovers {especially good for the kiddos who take a bite of a slice of pie and realize they don't like it}. Let me know your thoughts!

{Other Recipes}

Chocolate Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 box devil's food cake mix (chocolate will work too or your favorite cake mix)
• 1 15 oz can pumpkin (not pie filling)
• 1 bag pumpkin spice Hershey's Kisses

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°.
2. In a large bowl combine cake mix and pumpkin. Stir or use a mixer until dough is smooth.
3. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat. Scoop cookie dough onto the pan and then bake for 8-10 minutes.
4. Remove pan and allow to cool for one minute on pan. Gently press kisses in the center of the cookies and then place cookies on a cooling rack.
5. Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Brownies

*This recipe make brownies in a 9x9 or 8x8 pan. However, like the picture, you can use muffin pans as well. {Fill the muffin pans with the batter 3/4 full}*

Ingredients

1. 1/2 cup butter
2. 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3. 1 cup sugar
4. 2 eggs
5. 1 tsp vanilla
6. 2/3 cup flour
7. 1/4 tsp baking soda
8. 3/4 cup Caramel Apple Milky Way Bites, cut in half
10. Optional Caramel Topping
11. 1/2 cup sugar
12. 1/2 cup light brown sugar
13. 4 tbsp butter
14. 1/4 cup evaporated milk
15. 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 8x8 or 9x9 inch pan with parchment paper and lightly grease. In a medium saucepan melt butter and unsweetened chocolate. Remove from heat; cool.
2. Stir sugar into cooled chocolate. Add eggs, one at a time. Stir in vanilla and mix until well combined.
3. In a small bowl stir four and baking soda together, add to chocolate mixture. Add chopped Milky Way bites into batter.
4. Spread batter into prepared pan, bake for 25-30 minutes.
5. Allow brownies to cool, then add caramel topping if desired.
6. For the caramel topping:
7. In a small saucepan heat sugars, butter, and evaporated milk until boiling. Stir constantly for 2-3 minutes until sauce thickens. Stir in vanilla. Pour over cooled brownies and allow caramel to set for 10-15 minutes before cutting.

A Little Update, and Happy Friday

Wait, what is this? I have a blog? Haha! How is everyone on this lovely Friday? Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been just a little bit busy. Scratch that. I have been very busy, and I'm about ready to pull my hair out. My days are filled with school, piano, school, teaching, babysitting, school, ACT & SAT (aka: death in the form of standardized exams), and did I mention school? Its been rather crazy. I have great news in the midst of that craziness though! I ran my first half-marathon!

It was not my best race. The previous week I was sick with bronchitis (ain't nobody got time for that!) and after that I experienced a lot of asthma. Friends, I coughed the entire race and nearly got sick twice. But after training for 3 months, I was not going to drop out and quit. Yes, I had to walk a whole lot more than I expected. And yes, my time was not what I expected either. But at the end of the day, I can still say that I ran a half marathon. I'm also so, so thankful for my sweet Daddy (this was half marathon number 22 for him!) who stayed with me through the whole race. 

So I got that over with. Yay! And I do plan on running another half marathon this spring *whoop* *whoop*! Can you believe Thanksgiving is next week? Well, for us Americans that is. But no matter what country you are from, you can't deny that the Holidays are getting super duper close. And I am super duper excited! I'll have at least one post of Thanksgiving preparation ideas for you all. After that, I'll have some fun Christmas posts again. Can't wait!

As for today, Catching Fire is officially released! A few friends and I are going out to dinner this evening and then seeing the film. I've been looking foreword to it all week long. Have you seen Catching Fire yet? Let me know for thoughts! Have a great Friday everyone!

Deliciousness!

I had a chocolate milkshake for breakfast.

No I'm not joking. But I may be exaggerating just a wee bit. After my disaster with my vegan Wendy's frosty a while back, I knew I had to take matters into my own hands. It took me a while to get around to it, but here is a deliciously healthy milkshake recipe I cooked up that you can have for a dessert...or even breakfast if its going I be a long, hard day. And guess what. It legitimately tastes like a chocolate milkshake. No fiasco here. You will need some frozen bananas, chocolate almond milk, chocolate protein powder, and optional yogurt. 

The recipe itself is pretty explanatory. I used more ripened bananas (that look brown and a tad more old) to make it more sweet and less fruity. I used about a cup of chocolate almond milk, if not more. Also, I did not use a full scoop of protein powder. It was more about 1/2 of a tablespoon. And if you want to add yogurt, use a tablespoon of vanilla flavored yogurt. Everything in this recipe varies pretty much to your own liking. If you want it to taste more like a chocolate milkshake than anything, use a few less frozen banana slices & yogurt, more milk, and more protein powder.  It is a very very very yummy recipe, if I do say so myself. Give it a shot! Let me know what you think about my healthy concoction. Enjoy! 

                        Xoxo,

                     Madison

Healthy Chocolate Milkshake:

•1&1/2 frozen ripened bananas

•1 cup choc. almond milk

• Less than a tblspn of choc. protein powder

• (Optional) 1 tblspn of vanilla yogurt

-Blend until smooth

-Silently weep because of its majestic healthy beauty