100 Days to Squeeze {Stoli® Hero Drink Recipe}

This post brought to you by STOLI® Vodka. All opinions are 100% mine.

It occurred to me yesterday as I climbed out of bed that the mornings are getting darker.  The light from my open window is now pretty minimal at 5AM-whereas just two weeks ago it was bright enough to wake me.  It has become.  That slow decent into Fall which inevitably leads to Winter... I already find myself missing Summer.  As I sit here typing this out I realize that I haven't done much that would count as Summer activities.  I've yet to go camping, I haven't been swimming once, and aside from sitting in front of the swamp cooler my Summer has been pretty Summer-less.  So right at this moment, I'm vowing to make more out of my Summer.

What does that mean?  Well I have to find time for some hiking, some swimming, and I'm going camping in a few weeks.  Also, enjoying more Summery things like salads and lovely Summer beverages.  When I think Summer drinks, I definitely think lemonade-but as an adult, I want an adult lemonade.  Especially for my camping trip, I think I'll give the Stoli® Hero Drink a try! 

Stoli® Hero Drink Recipe:

• 2 parts Stolichnaya® Vodka
• 4 parts lemonade
• Lemons

Fill a mason jar with ice and pour the vodka and lemonade over it, then garnish the rim with a lemon wedge for extra Summery fun!  Now drink up!  You enjoy how the smooth grain taste of Stoli® Premium Vodka pairs perfectly with the tart sweetness of your favorite Summertime lemonade. For an added flavor twist, switch out the regular Vodka for a flavored one! I'm thinking that an adult Raspberry or Peach lemonade would be heaven on a hot day! 

For those of you lucky enough to be located around the country (a.k.a. not Utah lol) you can also check out the Stoli® Lemonade Truck! They'll be travelling around with samples of Stoli® Lemonade cocktails, refreshing flavored lemonade ice pops, and daring customers to take part of fun challenges in order to win prizes and fun Stoli® Event Swag! 

Along with the truck they'll be celebrating the Stoli® 100 Days to Squeeze and will be hosting over 300 managed bar nights in 12 cities around the country-cities that include Denver, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New Jersey, New York, and more!   

Follow Stoli on Twitter, Instagram, and Join Stoli on Facebook in order to keep up with the Lemonade Truck and other fujn Stoli® events! 

What would you put in your Stoli® Lemonade Cocktail to make it unique and fun this Summer?

Recipe: Stuffed Acorn Squash

I have been on such a squash kick lately.  A while back I shared a recipe for Cheesy Curried Mushroom & Onion Stuffed Delicata Squash, and now I'm sharing this one for Stuffed Acorn Squash.  It was sooooo tasty, and can pass as vegetarian.  This can even be a good vegan meal if you leave out the cheese.

What you'll need:

• Acorn Squash - 1 half for each person (it's incredibly filling)
• Mushrooms (sliced)
• Spinach
• Onions (diced/minced)
• Garlic (minced)
• Butter (or substitute-I used Smart Balance)
• Seasonings - your choice
• Cheese (I used Vintage Cheddar and Havarti)

1. The first thing you'll want to do is get your Acorn Squash cooking.  Place it in an oven-safe pan and puncture it a few times.  This allows the steams to release (so it doesn't explode) while it's baking.  It'll take roughly 45 minutes to an hour at about 365 degrees.

2. About half an hour into the baking you'll want to start your sautéing.  In a large skillet melt your butter (or substitute) and add your garlic and onions so they can start cooking and season your pan.  

3. When the onions and garlic are starting to look good and soft-golden brown, add your mushrooms in to cook.

4. Here is where you'll want to add in your seasonings.  I used black pepper, a little rosemary, and some homemade Sriracha salt that my roommate received as a gift from our good friend Brittany.

5. When the mushrooms are starting to look close to done, throw in your Spinach.  Spinach cooks up fast, and will add a lovely big of green to your meal-with lots of nutrients.

6. Your squash should be about done now, so you'll want to pull it out (careful, it's hot!) and slice it in half lengthwise.  You'll then want to scoop out the seeds inside.  It reminded me of pumpkin insides.

7.  Now fill your squash halves with your sautéd mixture! 

8. Top with cheese.

9. Pop back in the oven or under the broiler for another 10 minutes or so until the cheese is melted and bubbly and then it's ready to serve! We paired ours with some baked tilapia, but these could easily be eaten on their own because they are very filling and go a long way.

Cakes Under the Influence

I was recently contacted for a review of Cakes Under the Influence, and thought it was such a fun concept I had to try it out and share it with my readers.  If you're not familiar with this site, it's an awesome shop where you can order supplies for making alcoholic cakes-in a varieties of styles and flavors!  They also have an option for cookies-which I can't wait to try some time!

Mine definitely did not turn out as pretty as the photos, but it's hard with the Utah altitude.  Pretty or not, they tasted fantastic!  I used just Amaretto (oops, forgot the mixer-who needs mixers? Haha!) with the chocolate cake.  The supplies for baking these are really fun-little martini shaped molds which you place in a cupcake pan to keep them separated.  I had a really fun time mixing these up (and eating left over batter...) and then cooking them up to eat after.  Definitely boozy-just how I like it!

These would be so fun for any type of event, you could put them out for a BIG occasion, or you can have them on a nice night in just for two!  Here are a few examples of fun kits! (Click on the photo to see the kit)

And here are some fun recipes too!  (Click on the photo to see the recipe)

All in all, it was such a fun idea I'm sure I'll be trying more of these in the future! Especially for some awesome parties-these would be such a blast! 

Monday Meal Planning with Melanie Makes

Hello, My So Called Chaos readers!  I'm so excited to be guest posting for Angie today! I’m Melanie from Melanie Makes where I cook, I craft and I care for my family.  Repeat.  Each Monday I post our menu for the week.  I've been doing this since the summer of 2009.  Crazy!  Having our evening meals planned in advance relieves so much guesswork and stress! Today starts week three without a range in our home.  I sold our range on craigslist and we're eagerly anticipating the arrival of a new one.  So excited to soon have a gas range again!  Until then, I've had to be creative in preparing our meals with our slow cooker, toaster oven and rice maker.  It's definitely kept things interesting! Here's what we'll be eating this week :

 

Monday : Roasted Cumin-Lime Eggplant Quesadillas.  Tortillas stuffed full of eggplant means you won't miss not having any meat for this filling meal. I’ve selected Monday as a night of the week for our family to eat a meatless meal as it tends to be more budget friendly as well as a friendlier option for the environment. My meat and potato eating husband tends to go along with this idea because I also make him a yummy dessert in addition to his meatless meal. What can I say? I’m nice like that!

Tuesday : Thai Chicken and Coconut Soup. The perfect bowl of comfort on an Autumn day with a Thai twist.

 

Wednesday : Skillet Burgers.  Also known as homemade sloppy joes.  We’ve been enjoying these with sweet potato fries the last few times I’ve made them.

 

Thursday : Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken.  It couldn’t be easier to toss the items for this dish into the slow cooker for dinner.  Not only is it easy, it’s amazingly flavorful as well!

Friday : Pizza.  Nothing better than a pie with the Perfect Pizza Crust!  Even if we don’t have pizza on Friday, I love having all the ingredients on hand as it makes an easy meal no matter what night of the week it may be.

Looking for more recipe ideas?  Check out my past menu plans and other recipes I’ve created.

A Makeshift Hot Toddy

So this cold I have is just not giving up without a good fight, despite being on everything I can think of... I'm taking Airborne/Emergen-C 3 times a day, Dayquil, Nyquil, Echinacea and Eucalyptus Tea, etc... So when I asked for help with suggestions because I really need to get over this, I got a slew of responses on Facebook, one of which being a Hot Toddy.  

Now I remember my dad making Hot Toddies when I was a kid.  Each time he was sick he'd get the buttered rum down from the cupboard (the one us kids couldn't reach) and make himself a hot concoction that smelled like Christmas, and then go take a hot bath with it.  I wasn't sure exactly what else goes into a Hot Toddy, and my roommate said for his family they were always just hot Whiskey with lemon and honey.  So I googled it.  Not having all of the ingredients the recipe called for, I decided to improvise with what I had in the cupboard, and add some cinnamon since it is supposed to be good for colds.  

So here's my makeshift Hot Toddy Recipe:

• Honey
• Cinnamon
• Echinacea Tea (or any Tea will do-but echinacea has good healing in it)
• Orange (or lemon, but all I had were oranges)
• Spiced Rum (or Whiskey)
• Hot Water

1. Boil water for the tea, when it boils put it in a separate mug with the tea and let the tea steep until it's strong.
2. Coat the bottom of your mug with the honey.  I put about 2 tbsp in, but you can adjust according to your taste and mug size.  
3. Sprinkle in cinnamon (I put about 1 tsp). 
4. Squeeze a quarter of your orange/lemon in to the cup.
5. Add Spiced Rum/Whiskey.  I used about 1/4 cup-but you can add more if you're feeling it. ;P
6. Poor the hot tea into the mug with everything else.
7. Add more hot boiling water as needed.
8. Stir, and drink! 

When this concoction came together I thought it sounded like it was going to be disgusting, but it was actually really good and soothing, and it put me right to sleep on the couch despite trying to watch Sleepy Hollow.  

Let me know if you have a good recipe or cure-all for a bad cold!  I'd love to hear it!

Favorite Fall Finds

1 // Happy Fall Print from Whimsey & Wanderlust

2 // Rusty Owl from Wassupbrothers

3 // Ceramic Fall Pumpkin Thanksgiving Dish from A Few Shades Greener

4 // Autumn Phone Case from Lix Hewett Photography

5 // Crocheted Autumn Snood from Yarn & Clay

6 // Gold Aspen Leaf Earrings from MLW Designs

7 // Tribal Print Wall Decor from Parada Creations

8 // Orange Slouchy Hat from Eleni's4You

9 // Dandelion Mixed Media Whimsical Painting by Painting Bliss

10 // I Want to Gobble You Up Thanksgiving Print from JH Print Shop

11 // Hand Stamped Ornament from Your Charmed Life

1 // Pumpkin Pie French Toast from Lovin' From the Kitchen

2 // Cheesy Curried Mushtroom & Onion Stuffed Delecata Squash from My So-Called Chaos

3 // Caramel Apple Fondue from Tried and Tasty

4 // Apple Cranberry Stuffing from The Real Housewives of Riverton

5 // Pumpkin Pie Cheese Ball from The Girl Who Ate Everything

6 // Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip from The Recipe Critic

7 // Caramel Brulee Latte from Lulu and Sweet Pea

8 // Caramel Pumpkin Pot de Creme from Bakers Royale

9 // Spicy Hot Chocolate from Pastry Pal

10 // Ginger Apple Tea from The Best of This Life

My Favorite Pinterest Halloween Recipes

Mmm, as the fall draws on the recipes get better and better... Before you head into the big Holiday season (where we all look forward to stuffing ourselves with things like turkey and fudge) comes Halloween, a holiday filled with sweet things and all sorts of creativity.  Here are 10 fantastic Halloween recipes, two are mine (but once inspired by Pinterest) but the rest are from Pinterest directly.  I aven't tried them all yet, but I'm partially keeping them all here so I can!  Well, and also to share with you:

Coconut Pumpkin Soup by My San Francisco Kitchen            Dracula's Kiss Drink by A Healthy Life for Me     

DIY Fall Kit Kat Cake by My So-Called Chaos

Fun and Easy Halloween Layered Dip by My So-Called Chaos

Whole Wheat Witch Fingers by Texanerin Baking          Black Sesame Rice Porridge by Beyond Kimchee

Easy Halloween Cake Pops by Butter with a Side of Bread

                    Scarecrow Crunch by Just Make Stuff                        

Spooky Graveyard Brownie Cakes by The Domestic Rebel

Halloween Caramel Corn by Heather Christo                Rice Crispy Ghosts by The Idea Room

Puff Pastry Intestine by Canarygirl.com

Meat Hand by Not Martha                                        Thorax Cake by Do It Myself

Dairy Free Gingerbread Skeletons by Cat Captain

      Witches Brew by Cajunlicious                            Pumpkin Pie Pops by The Domestic Rebel

Candy Corn Sugar Cookies by Our Best Bites