erica danielle

Today was a good day. Here are some good things about it: My bus and trains were on time. Had some good conversation around the lunch table at work Left work 1.5 hours early and came home to Sten and then went to cycling and ab attack Had a delicious dinner that was simple and fun to make. I am still awake and it's 9:32pm because I HAVE THE DAY OFF TOMORROW so I can stay up! Anyway. I wanted to branch out and try some new recipes this week, so at Harvest Time we bought about 5lbs. of ribs after I saw this from Iowa Girl Eats . Wowza. This recipe is a keeper. ENJOY!    Baby back ribs.   First, mix together 3 Tbls. paprika, 2 Tbls. brown sugar, 1/2 tsp. cayenne and S & P. Rub this mixture all over both sides of our ribs well.    Arrange the ribs in the slow cooker by standing them up against the wall of the stoneware pot, thicker side down and meaty side against the pot. Pour about 3 Cups BB...

SO good. Jalapeno, celery onion, green pepper Saute shred the chicken Back in the pot Perfect fall dinner with some bread and wine. This recipe is from The Pioneer Woman ... The ultimate blogger. Recipe and better pictures are attached to the link. Sten and I were so tired when we finally both got home today. In fact, he took a nap before his FOURTH class of the day, and I feel asleep in the dentist chair waiting for Dr. Zagar! That's pretty bad. But we weren't too tired to roll up our sleeves and make some soup. Sten was my sous chef (of course) and chopped/diced all the vegetables to perfection. We had so much fun in the kitchen and our hard work paid off. This made a TON of soup. I think we will be eating it for the next week- at least! We ended our night with a walk to Mim's to bring her a cup o soup and sat at the island catching up. I love doing that. I have Wednesday off this week! What a treat- so I only have one more early morning... t...

  You are in for treat. and I mean a TREAT! This cornbread is better than any other cornbread out there. And I've had a lot of cornbread. It's easy, makes a TON, and your guests will rave about it.    I just love the pictures where the mixer is doing it's thing. Have I mentioned I LOVE my mixer?   Pan #1. You could easily freeze this and take it out on rainy day, when you need a side dish, but are low on time.    Pan #2. L.A. Cornbread muffins! YUMMMM. This recipe came from my Aunt Lynn. Let's face it: THE STOKKA SIDE CAN COOK! When my mom made this for the first time, I thought to myself, I don't think I will ever eat regular cornbread again. And, I don't think I have! Here's the recipe: L.A. Cornbread Aunt Lynn Ingredients: 1 box yellow cake mix 2 boxes "jiffy cornbread mix" 3 eggs 1/3 C Canola Oil 1/2 C water (Okay I didn't say it was healthy) Mix and pour into a 9 x 13 and ...

Look what greeted us after our car ride from the city to New Buffalo! Total girl food! Kate was so excited to start the margarita's she hasn't even taken off her puffy vest! Playing charades. Group shot. Dinner on the first night! Me and the Kate's After an evening of charades; someone *ahem* Karoline, had the great idea of going to the casino at midnight. I did end up winning $6 at the Wheel of Fortune penny slots. Saturday afternoon wine tasting. First stop Round Barn. This looks SO Fall! Second stop: St Julians! Painted nails and a glass of red wine... what's better than that? The man that took this picture was so far away... at least he got the OPEN and St. Julian sign in. oops, this one got a little out of order, but cute none the less! Saturday night girl talk and hang out. This was right before my camera died (I'm noticing a trend) after girl talk we built a bonfire and finished out the weekend outs...

I spent a good portion on my morning finding recipes and making a grocery list. I am VERY excited to get back to the kitchen and start blogging my recipes. There is no excuse for my lack of efforts! I am going out of my comfort zone with a couple of these recipes- I typically stick with chicken and vegetables only... but I think I am ready to explore some new meats. Happy October 1st. Summer is really over here in the Windy City. I do love Fall, and have been really excited to do all my usual fall festivities.. such as: Pumpkin Carving Pumpkin Baking Apple Picking Apple Baking Bonfire-ing Dressing in sweaters and boots Wearing my Fall jackets Drinking hot cider Crunching leaves Breathing in crisp air Fall cleaning Fall decorating I am READY to cook, blog, and live it up this Fall. xoxo. ericadcarlson

On Friday I experienced my first bonfire of the season, and all it did was leave me wanting more. Nothing says 'Fall' like a bonfire, some s'mores and a sweatshirt! Recipe for a perfect s'more! We added carmel to our s'mores. It made for an extra tasty treat!  It was the most relaxing way to spend a cool, fall, Friday night. I could stare at a fire forever, you know how it just mezmorizes you? Best s'more ever! Good Friends! Last night I made 2 kinds of cornbread: L.A. Cornbread and Pumpkin Cornbread. Unfortunately, only the L.A. type turned out. I am going to try to post that recipe today or tomorrow. It's absolutely perfect for this time of year. We are having our small group over for dinner tonight. Can't wait to see our table full of friends! xoxo. Erica

This evening we had a planning meeting for our girls trip to New Buffalo. I've never been so excited to plan something. It was so fun to be in a room of girls looking so forward to being away for a weekend. Sometimes you just really need to get away. I don't think this trip could have come at a better time. I am looking forward to: wine tours, bike rides, apple orchards, outlet malls, dinners, games, great conversations, and LOTS of girl time. Tomorrow I am making L.A. cornbread. I will take pictures and share the recipe. It is one to keep in a file. xoxo. erica.