November 30, 2011

efunny

I have always loved the witty, and brutally honest ecards from someecards.com! They have come up a lot on pinterest lately, so we collected some of our favorites.  Some are way too accurate, and some I would love to actually send to a friend! 



  




November 25, 2011

Black Friday Tunes

Hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving.  I know that all of us here at Pretty Penny have tons to be thankful for this year.  I leave you with a cover of one of my fave songs of all time. 



Pixie Lott makes this song even more romantic


Good luck to the brave souls who faced the crowds and stocked up on great deals. Way to go.

-Megan 

November 23, 2011

Crunch-Wrap Supreme

I came across a homemade Taco Bell recipe on Hungry Girl and I just had to try it.  We made some tweaks to her recipe and the results were delicious. 


Ingredients
1 Home-style Tortilla
1 Tostada Shell
1/3 cup Ground Turkey Breast
1/4 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/4 cup shredded lettuce
1/3 tomato diced
1/4 cup re fried beans
1 tsp sour cream
1/2 tsp taco seasoning



Directions
1. Brown turkey meat adding taco seasoning at the end, the taco seasoning is packed with flavor so add as much or as little as you would like.
2. Set meat aside and have all ingredients ready to start building your crunch-wrap



3. First I laid my tortilla flat on a plate spreading a layer of re fried beans the size of the toastada and covering the beans with the taco turkey.  (The beans act like glue so keep this in mind for construction purposes)
4. Next came the toastada which i covered in sour cream and shredded lettuce placing in the center of the crunch-wrap
5. Lastly I placed diced tomatoes and cheese, I started folding the flour tortilla up, this is where I used a little extra re fried beans to keep the crunch-wrap wrapped up
6. Finally I placed the wrap in a hot greased frying pan seam side down


7. Once browned on one side flip (carefully) it takes about 5-7 mins per side


8. Once crunch-wrap is warm throughout top with salsa and enjoy!




No more need to "Think outside the bun" because you can make Taco Bell at home.  Enjoy!

-Megan




November 22, 2011

Pumpkin Cheesecake

As I've mentioned before, I love pumpkin flavored anything! I had the most amazing pumpkin cheesecake at Plaza III, and i had to try to recreate it! I was unsuccessful in getting their recipe from them (they don't make it there). I looked around online and found this recipe from feasting.in that looked fairly simple, as this was my first cheesecake attempt. It was pretty easy, and was beyond delicious!

Ingredients
Springform Pan

FOR THE CRUST:
12 graham crackers-about 2 cups crushed (i used the cinnamon sugar graham crackers)
1/2 c butter, melted
1/4 c powdered sugar

FOR THE FILLING:
(3) 8 oz pkgs of cream cheese
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c sugar
1 tbs vanilla extract
3 tbs lemon or lime juice (i used lemon)
3 eggs
5 oz pumpkin puree
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

November 21, 2011

DIY Thanksgiving Place Cards

We had an early Thanksgiving last Thursday with our friends (we call it "Friendsgiving"). It was a blast, something we will have to continue each year.  We wanted some fun and simple place cards for everyone, to make the table look a little festive. We decided to collect all different shapes and colors of leaves, and then write our friends' names on them.


So basically all you need are some leaves, and paint pens. We used gold and silver, they showed up the best. We got white also, but it didn't really work.


 Here's how it looked on our faux-porcelain plastic plates! With 28 people attending, we had to go with plastic and paper everything, except for the wine glass, which we have over 30 of for some reason!


Some more pics of the whole place setting, and part of the table.  We also discovered that you need to make these the day of your dinner, or the colored leaves will wrinkle and dry up a little. We learned that the hard way, and had to re-do a few.

November 18, 2011

Throwin Elbows

I've been seeing a lot of elbow patches lately, and I'm a huge fan! I think that the traditional leather patches are my favorite, but I love seeing all of the different colors and shapes! Here are a few of my favorite tops and sweaters with elbow patches:





If you can't find the perfect patched top, why not add them to your favorite top or sweater yourself? Check out this awesome DIY from Because I'm Addicted


looks easy enough, and I think I have the perfect top!
-Whitney


November 14, 2011

Cute Video Alert- The Lazy Song


How adorable are these twins singing and dancing to Bruno Mars' "The Lazy Song"!?!?!

Thanksgiving Dinner Club PINspiration

We are hosting a rather large dinner club at our house this Thursday, and of course it's Thanksgiving themed. We want the tables to look festive, so we have been looking around for ideas. Where better to look than Pinterest right? Here are some fun and festive table settings for Thanksgiving, that are giving me some great ideas!

 Not sure if I want to buy 25 pumpkins, but love the burlap!

 Apparently there is a shortage of acorns this year in our area, but maybe I can scrounge some up! looks so cute with the candle.

 Love these lettered candles!

The simplicity of this is gorgeous.

We can't have a table setting without name cards! Here are a few fall/Thanksgiving name cards:

 So simple.

 Love this, and you could use any type or leaf/flower/bud as an accent.

 I think that white pumpkins make great decorations, and so cute with the book page nametags.

So delicate and cute.

Hope this helps give you some inspiration for your Thanksgiving feast too!

November 11, 2011

Happy Weekend

and even more important Happy Veteran's Day.  Thanks to all those who are serving and have served in the past for America.  Thank a Veteran today.





Penny's friend honoring Veterans


Slow Cooker : French Dip

It's that time of year to dust off your slow cookers and put them to use.  There is nothing better than coming home from work to a kitchen that smells like you have been slaving for hours.  This week we made a favorite meal of mine French Dip Sandwiches. This is the first time I have ever made them myself, usually I order them at a resturant, and I must say mine are right up there. 



Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches

approx 3 and a half lbs beef chuck roast
16 oz. beef broth ( 1 1/2 cans )
1 10.5 oz can condensed French Onion Soup
6 oz. red wine
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste
4-6 French rolls
sliced provolone cheese, optional

1.Season meat with salt and pepper
2. Pour beef broth, condensed soup, red wine, and garlic powder into slow cooker and place meat into liquid.
3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, may very depending on the strength of your slow cooker.
4. Strain beef from juices, however keep juices. 


5. Place meat back into slow cooker and cover allowing meat to rest, leave cooker on low allowing meat to remain warm.


6. In a 450 degree oven toast bread with or without cheese slices, adding a little crunch to your bread (best dipping tool)
7. At this point season your Au Jus, I used a combination of pepper and garlic salt.  We also needed to skim excess fat that had settled on the top.


8. Build, Dip, Bite, Enjoy


- Megan 

November 10, 2011

Obsession : Fairy Tales

I have recently been loving anything Fairy Tale, I think it all started with my
Sunday Night Fave "Once Upon a Time"



Today I read about a few new movies that won't be in theater until next summer
but they totally captured my attention...



Snow White and the Huntsman, starring Kristen Stewart as Snow and Charlize Theron as Evil Queen, described as an epic action-adventure.  As we all know Snow White is the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen therefore the queen sets out to destroy her.  The queen is reluctant to know that Snow White had been training in the art of war with a huntsman.  (Cue Title)
Produced by the same minds that brought us Alice in Wonderland, this film is a modern vision of the tale we all grew up with. 





Mirror, Mirror starring critically acclaimed Julia Roberts as the Evil Queen and the fresh new face Lily Collins as the one and only Snow White.  This version sounds like it could be one of my new favorite takes on the Snow White story because of the attention paid to the dwarfs and their plot to reclaim the kingdom from the evil one herself.  Tagged on The Internet Movie Database as a Comedy, Drama, Fantasy sparking my interest even more. 



And to bring your own Fairy Tale to life below are a few homes for the Modern Dwarf, I mean Dweller.





My favorite part about these thatched roof beauties are their unique shapes and how they seem to blend into the surroundings not take away from it.  All we need now is some porridge and good Fairy Tale to read. 



-Megan

Thirsty Thursday: Fall Cocktails

Happy Thursday! Who's ready for the weekend?? Or maybe just a cocktail!  Here are some fall cocktail recipes that look delicious!


Pumpkin Martini
-1 part Grey Goose La Poire flavored vodka
- 1 part pumpkin butter
-1/2 part triple sec
-Pinch of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and ginger
-Grated nutmeg and apple chip for garnish



Apple Cider & Bourbon Cocktail
-2 parts Apple Cider, refrigerated
-2 parts Ginger Ale, refrigerated
- 1 part Bourbon


Guadalajara Silver
1.5 oz Don Roberto Tequila Plata
.25 oz Agave nectar
.75 oz fresh lime juice
.5 oz fresh pink grapefruit juice
.75 oz Ginger liqueur
.5 oz Fresh Granny Smith Apple Juice
equal parts sugar and cinnamon for around the rim
garnish with granny smith apple slices


Pomegranate-Champagne Punch
- 1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice
- 1 cup pear nectar
-1/4 cup orange-flavored liqueur (Grand Marnier)
- 1 bottle (750 ML) champagne


Enjoy!