Sour Cream Pound Cake

I'm absolutely head over heels for a delicious cake. Pound cake is not only easy to make with simple ingredients, but it's also amazingly delicious! This sour cream pound cakes tastes great with a bottle of St. James strawberry wine.

Ingredients:
½ cup butter
3 eggs
1½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder

⅛ teaspoon baking soda

1 cup sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Allow butter, eggs, and sour cream to stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Grease and lightly flour a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan; set aside. In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside. 

2. Preheat the oven to 325°F (162° C). In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, beating about 10 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition and scraping bowl frequently. Alternately add flour mixture and sour cream mixture to butter mixture, beating on low to medium speed after each addition just until combined. Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan. 

3. Bake for 60 to 75 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool thoroughly on rack. 

This cake tasted yummy, especially after I frosted it with strawberry frosting. Pound cakes are a timeless classic that anyone can enjoy. Go ahead and make it, you won't regret it!

Accepted

Happy Monday guys and dolls! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

It's summertime break for a lot of folks, and to kick things off this week I thought I'd choose a funny, lighthearted Monday movie. The prince of funny and awkward teen comedies, Justin Long, stars in Accepted, a movie about an slacker who decides to start his own college when he gets rejected by all the ones he applied to.

Bartleby Gaines (Long) along with his his friends Schrader, Glen, Holloway, Rory, and the forever funny Lewis Black as Dean Lewis decide to convert an old psychiatric hospital into the South Harmon Institute of Technology for students who got rejected by other schools. At this college the students teach the classes, the dean lives in a trailer in the back, and pretty much anything goes!

Accepted is a hysterical movie that any college bound student or just anybody trying to discover themselves should watch. Justin Long is oddly inspiring as the college's co-founder, and Jonah Hill is simply hilarious as Bartleby's best friend Schrader. Check out the trailer for Accepted below:



Accepted is now on blu-ray and DVD.

Thanks to Imp Awards for the movie poster and St. James for the wine.

Basil Pan Burgers

I have loved Rachael Ray for as long as I can remember, and her release of her new book yesterday, The Book of Burger, had me craving a good ol' fashioned burger. Like I mentioned before, I don't own a grill, so I try to find other creative ways to do barbecue classics. Luckily for me, my trusty Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook  has a tried and true recipe for the most amazing burgers. And all that's required is your stove top!

Ingredients:
1 egg, slightly beaten
¼ cup chopped onion
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons fine dry bread crumbs (I like to use smashed up graham crackers)
2 tablespoons snipped fresh basil OR 1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
2 tablespoons ketchup
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
Nonstick cooking spray

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl combine egg, onion, Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, basil, ketchup, salt, pepper, and garlic. Add beef; mix well. Shape beef mixture into for ¾-inch thick patties. 

2. Lightly coat a heavy skillet with cooking spray (or use a heavy nonstick skillet). Preheat skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add patties. Reduce heat to medium or until temperature registers 160° on an instant-read thermometer, turning patties once halfway through cooking. If patties brown too quickly, reduce heat to medium low. Serve patties on buns with basil leaves (if desired) and tomato slices. 

These burgers taste amazing, and cooking them on the stove doesn't alter their taste one bit! As always, you should make sure that the burgers are fully cooked before serving them by checking their temperature with a meat thermometer. Try these out and don't to pick up a copy of Rachael Ray's book The Book of Burger on shelves now!

Mexican Wedding Cookies

It is said that the Mexican wedding cookie (also known as Russian tea cakes) originated with the Medieval Arab cultural and eventually made its way to the European and Spanish cultures where it was brought to Mexico from there. These cookies, with it's simple ingredient list and rich taste are a staple at traditional Mexican weddings. They are eaten as at the end of a wedding reception with the thought that the butters, sugars, and oils would bring about a happy life and a successful marriage.

Because the few ingredients included in this recipe are all items you probably have just laying around your house these cookies are the perfect thing to make when you're suddenly hit with a sweet tooth. Below is a simple recipe for these traditional cookies.

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for coating baked cookies
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting hands
1 cup pecans, chopped into very small pieces



Directions: 
1. Preheat oven to 275°F (135°C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar at low speed until it is smooth. Beat in the vanilla. At low speed gradually add the flour. Mix in the pecans with a spatula. With floured hands, take out about 1 tablespoon of dough and shape into a crescent. Continue to dust hands with flour as you make more cookies. Place onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake 40 minutes.

3. When cool enough to handle but still warm, roll in additional confectioners' sugar. Cool on wire racks.



These cookies are simple and sweet without being too overbearing. The hardest part step when it comes to making these is waiting 40 minutes for it to bake in the oven! Perfect for serving at a gathering of friends, or even just snacking on a few while curled up with a good book, these Mexican wedding cookies are great for any occasion - not just weddings!

The Italian Job

Happy Monday morning lovelies! I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend, I know I did.

I love movies, so much so that I've taken the time to invest in a quality TV and sound system so I can enjoy movies to the fullest extent that they were meant to be enjoyed. So instead of posting a recipe on Mondays, I'm gonna do a little feature called Monday Movie instead where I spotlight a movie.

For my first movie I'm featuring one of my favorites: The Italian Job. A remake of the original 1969 caper film, The Italian Job stars Mark Wahlberg (swoon) as Charlie Croker, a master thief who with his mentor and brilliant safe cracker John Bridger (Donald Sutherland) plan one last heist to steal $35 million in Italian gold bricks. The heist goes as planned until one of their own double crosses them and leaves them all for dead. Now with Bridger dead and the gold gone the team is ready for vengeance. They recruit Bridger's daughter Stella (Charlize Theron) to even the score.

This is one of my favorite movies ever, and not (just) because I have a major crush on Mark Wahlberg.  It's action packed with some hilarious moments, and even a little bit of romance. This movie is what inspired me to get a MINI Cooper in the first place. Check out the trailer for The Italian Job below.



The Italian Job is now available on blu-ray and DVD.

Courtesy to Imp Awards for the movie poster.

Wonderful Weekend

Saturdays and Sundays roll around and I'm normally left up to my own devices. No school, no homework, no one to answer to it's GREAT. That is until I get bored. One of my absolute favorite blogs café fashionista used to feature a series called 'Why Don't You. . .?' so I decided to pick up where she left off.  Once a month I'll post some fabulous idea that are tons of fun and also allow you to give back a little. So why don't you...?

Yard sales and flea markets are the perfect place to find undiscovered treasures super cheap, and with websites like American Fleas locating one in your area is easier than ever. Go out and start digging for your perfect find. 

A nature hike with friends is the perfect chance to get away for a little while. You could make it a little more fun and pack a picnic while you soak in the trees, plants and gorgeous weather together.

Get out and enjoy the beautiful day with your four-legged friend. I know Wilfred loves the outdoors just at much as I do. I love taking him to the park to play in the lake and chase after the ducks. You'll love spending the day at the dog park, and maybe you and your pup can make some new friends.

He's got his eye on those ducks. . .

. . .Meanwhile the ducks are just chilling.

There are always local youth organizations that could use some extra help. Volunteering not only makes a difference in your life, but makes a major one in there's as well. Find Youth Info lets you find youth organizations that cover an array of topics. Grab a friend and y'all can make a difference for some amazing kids!

I hope I've inspired you all with some fun weekend ideas. Have fun!