Cheesy Vegetable Chili For These Chilly Fall Evenings.

This is a vegetarians dream! Everything they could ever want all wrapped inside a warm bowl of comfort! Even if you’re not a vegetarian, you will absolutely not be missing the meat in this dish what so ever. It’s filled with all the delicious spicy, warm flavors that we all know and love when it comes to enjoying the classic bowl of chili, but with a delicious cheesy spin, along with tasty toppings that will make your mouth water before even taking your first bite! I feel like you can never just eat a bowl of plain chili.. I always have to be piling the goodies on top, including mountains of cheese, a dollop of sour cream, crushed up salty tortilla chips, and a few dashes of good hot sauce for that bite that we all look for when indulging in the coziest bowl of fall that there is! I mean it is CHILI! I always say.. you can’t really enjoy it unless there’s a nice chill in the air because I’m sure we can all agree that this is one meal best served hot, curled up on the couch watching your favorite football team play on the big screen!

Every single time before I start cooking I make sure all of my prep is done, and everything is in place. With a “one pot wonder” (in the words of my father) .. it makes it that much faster & easier when you begin whipping everything together!

  • Chop up one white onion into small dice
  • Chop two stalks of celery. (make sure your celery is nicely clean & all the dirt is out of the inside)
  • Thinly slice two stalks of scallions.
  • Peel & thinly slice one medium carrot.
  • Small dice one small red bell pepper.

In a large stalk pot over medium heat, sauté your vegetables that you chopped up with a good gulp of vegetable oil, and a pad of butter. Let everything get translucent, and browned around the edges of each piece of produce.

After letting the vegetables sauté for 15-20 minutes, it’s going to be time to add that sizzling spice!

  • 3 tablespoons of chili powder
  • 2 tablespoons of paprika
  • 2 tablespoons of cumin
  • 1 tablespoon of garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons of celery salt
  • Salt & pepper to taste.

Once you’ve added all of those succulent spices, toss in a can of green peas, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, and a can of sweet corn. All of these ingredients are whats going to make this chili extremely thick, and filling since we are in fact missing the meat, but not actually missing the meat. If you Diamonds catch my drift! 😉 After all the rainbow goodness gets mixed in the pot, then it’s time for the cheesy goodness of it all!

  • Pour in one whole can of cheddar cheese soup in with everything! It’s the magical ingredient in this vegetable chili, and it gives it such a luscious creamy texture that this needed. As we know.. since it doesn’t have the ground beef in it, another fat component was a pretty necessary add in!

In every single chili, besides white chicken chili of course, you need a tomato product! I used a 15 oz can of tomato sauce, and then finished it off with the same amount of water. You can of course use a can of crushed tomatoes, but since my family was going to be enjoying this, and my dad can’t consume seeds of any kind.. I chose to do the sauce instead.

  • Once you have everything combined in the pot, let that simmer for 1-2 hours on low depending how how thick and flavorful you want the chili to become!

This chili is great to even have going in a crock pot all day on a Sunday while the games are playing, with a toppings bar set up right next to it, so that everyone will be able to go serve themselves a nice little bowl topped with anything they could ever want! All types of bars especially “chili bars” are stars of a party, or get together during this time of year. I truly think it’s one of the best things you can put out while having guests over, no matter if it’s 5 people, or 50, and with the holidays on their way, it’s an amazing way to brainstorm ideas for other types of bars! You can arrange everything from shredded cheese to lime segments! Anything and everything you could ever want to host the best, and most memorable football Sundays this fall!

XOXO

Briana Meshkofski2 Comments

A Spooky Seed & Bones Charcuterie Board For All Of Your HALLOWEEN Parties This Season!

It is most definitely not a party without a cute & crazy charcuterie board to put directly in the middle of the kitchen island as the focal point since boards like these are just as much decor as they are for you to pick on! One of my favorite things about building boards for parties is how insanely gorgeous you can make them. Sky really is the limit when it comes to making any kind of these babies.. almost like painting a picture! This board will by far steal the show as the sweetest, but spookiest board at your all fall festivities that you throw until it reaches Thanksgiving time! I feel like most of the time we end spooky season on November 1st because everyone rushes to go put up their Christmas trees, but we need to enjoy every season, and just live in the present moment! Enjoy the times as they come, and let them go when it’s time! When people try rushing the holidays, they push away the rest of the year.. wishing away time in their life. Rushing good things is never what you want to do, just like you never want to rush making the perfect board, no matter what theme you’re end goal for it may be!

When I create a board regardless of the theme, I make sure to always have a vast variety of fatty & spicy meats, at least two different cheeses that both have different textures to deliver to your gathering, a few cracker options incase someone likes a more buttery one, rather than crunchy ones, nuts or trail mix, and of course.. some sweet little treats!

Sectioned into what’s inside each one of these pretty pictures!

  1. Peppered salami, pretzel crackers, brie & horseradish cheese, and prosciutto with little pumpkin jewels peeking through!
  2. The prosciutto, of course.. pumpkin seeds (because whats a fall filled board without pumpkin seeds?) and succulent sopressata!
  3. You can see the both cheeses because I have them cut in half that a piece of them would be scattered around the board, capicola, soft baked white chocolate cheesecake pumpkin cookies, and cheddar cheese puffs that are in the shapes of skeleton bones! Which I thought were just absolutely adorable.
  4. Next to our buried skeleton guy thats buried in a bed of pumpkin seeds I have hot sopressata! I feel like you always need the option of the original, or spicy so that your guests can choose depending if they have a sensitivity to spice! Then next to the res of the cheese, and pretzel crackers.. I threw a caramel apple spice trail mix. This trail mix was filled with coated pretzel balls, dried cranberries & apples, and pralines. It was exactly what this board of bliss needed!
  5. In this last picture you can see much more of our amazing trail mix surrounding our mouthwatering meats & cheeses that I already introduced to you Diamonds.

For the close up that all of you Diamonds were longing for.. there that baby is!! 😉 I love this so much, and all of you will soon grow to learn that I LOVE having a focal point on every single board that I make, no matter the event or theme it is gaged towards. Having something yummy in the center of your board that your eyes are able to gaze right over to make everything else look that much more beautiful because the layout is perfect. It may not seem like a big deal, but the art of the board is EVERYTHING Diamonds.. everything!

XOXO

Briana Meshkofski3 Comments

My Ultimate Favorite Food List of 100 things & Places i Love To Eat!

Happy October Diamonds! I hope you all are having a fun filled fall so far, and trying to make the absolute best of it regardless of all things happening around us! Many months back in the spring time.. I reached 50 posts here on Deep Fried Diamonds, so I celebrated that milestone by letting you in on 50 facts about me in honor of my first 50 posts since this blog first launched! Since then, I have succeeded 50 MORE posts, and have reached 100 posts that I have given to all of you Diamonds over the time that this blog has been born! I love sharing my recipes, ideas, lifestyle ways, and party planning tips with all of you so much that I decided “why not share even more”?! Being that my “50 facts about me” post let all of you know more about me on a pretty personal level.. now I want to let all of you in on the massive foodie in me! Not only do I love making food, but I also enjoying eating it just as much.. I’m sure you all can agree! We probably can also agree that a list of 100 different foods is a lot, so I figured splitting the difference is the absolute best way to go! I’m going to be blessing you all with 50 foods that I could never live without because they are my most favorite of life.. along with 50 places that I love or would love to get food from whether that’s a sit down restaurant, or a fast food drive through! It’s going to be a fun afternoon filled with all things FOOD!

50 foods that I adore so much and couldn’t live without in this lifetime:

  1. Sushi– I love sushi so much, I probably don’t go more than a week without it! I used to be super afraid of masago (capelin caviar) but I have really learned how to appreciate the flavor that it gives a sushi roll. It most definitely elevates the bite! If you’ve never had sushi, but also claim you don’t like it.. don’t be that person! Try it out! You might really surprise yourself.
  2. Cheese- Honestly, I adore cheese on everything, or anything. You know what they say… “you can never have too much cheese”. 😉
  3. Hot dogs- I know everyone says that they are junk, and are so bad for you because they’re made of scraps, BUT we can’t lie to ourselves.. they are insanely nostalgic, and delicious! I will eat a hot dog plain, or I will load it with everything. It is perfect either way.
  4. Green Salads- I love salad so much. There’s people that won’t eat salad because they’re not crazy about vegetables, but I feel like it’s because they haven’t experienced enough exciting ingredients in them! Salad bars are totally where it’s at for me, and in the next list of 50 places you’ll learn my favorite place to go if you’re craving a slamming salad bar!
  5. Cold salads- pasta, potato, macaroni, egg, ham, chicken.. I love them all! These types of salads are something I actually love creating because they feed so so many people at a time, and you can be super creative!
  6. Grilled Cheese- Ever since I was a little little girl I was totally and completely a grilled cheese baby! I would eat it at home, and it would be what I ordered most of the time when I’d visit a restaurant, and well.. to be honest with you guys, I still get it at restaurants even to this day.
  7. Buttered noodles- This is another meal that I used to be obsessed with when I was really young, and still love today! I remember each time I would visit my aunts house she would make me a yummy bowl of these buttery noodles, decorate the top with lots of parmesan cheese, and serve it with a side of applesauce! At the time it was everything I could have ever wanted!
  8. Applesauce- speaking of applesauce.. this is a sweet little side that sometimes I just crave for no reason. I love it with anything. As a snack, or with your meal.. it’s always always good!
  9. Deviled eggs- I’ve always been a fan of mayonnaise, or anything that’s really creamy, so I have forever loved deviled eggs! This is another food you can get super fancy, and creative with. It’s a tradition for me to make these at every holiday dinner! They’ll never ever go to waste.
  10. Egg salad– pretty much just a deconstructed deviled egg that I could eat any time of any day!
  11. Sandwiches/Hoagies- I’ve always loved any kind of sandwich. It’s truly something that I could eat everyday and never ever get sick of it.. I think I get that trait from my dad because he also loves sandwiches.
  12. Bacon, Egg, and Cheese on a Bagel- Even though this is a sandwich, I had to put it in it’s own category just as I did with the grilled cheese because the bacon, egg, and cheese is just by far the king breakfast sandwich. without a doubt!
  13. Cheeseburgers- There’s not much to say besides who doesn’t love an all American kind of food? That’s like saying you don’t like pizza.
  14. Pizza- Now that I reminded myself.. pizza is just the go to food! You can eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and at 1 in the morning watching movies with your girlfriends. Pizza never disappoints, and it will always be there for you. Hehe. 😉
  15. Cookies- I’m not much of a dessert kind of gal, but I love cookies so so SO much! It’s my most favorite sweet treat ever! A huge chocolate chip cookie with broken up peanut butter cups mixed into the batter is the way to my heart… if you were curious. Lol.
  16. Tater Tots- I mean you can’t have a bacon, egg, and cheese without a mouthwatering side of crispy brown tots! Am I right Diamonds?
  17. Bologna– Bologna is by far my favorite lunch meat. It’s great in scrambled eggs, on a sandwich, in a grilled cheese, or even grilled, or fried!
  18. Pasta- i will devour any kind of pasta at any meal! It is pretty phenomenal to me how you can literally put anything in with it, and it’s usually always remarkable!
  19. Baked Beans- Of course you can eat the ones from a can.. that’s totally acceptable, especially if you doctor it up a bit, but I love homemade baked beans.. specifically my grams recipe.
  20. Bow Ties With Cottage Cheese- with the mention of my gram.. that made me think of her beautiful dish she used to make that I grew up being obsessed with. If you’ve never had this meal.. I am very very sorry. You need to go make it, right now! I actually have this recipe up here on the blog that I did back in the spring when lent was coming to a close since this is well known for being a lenton dish. All you have to do is boil noodles, melt butter.. browning it if you would like with some diced onions and finally, toss in a whole container of cottage cheese. It is most the comforting, decedent, and creamiest pasta you will ever eat!
  21. Chicken Wings- chicken wings are something I crave all the time, but only let myself indulge every once in a while since obviously they’re not the best things for you. I will eat them naked or breaded, and with any kind of sauce known to man!
  22. Avocado Toast– Avocado is one of my favorite pieces of produce on this planet, and I love anything on top of a delicious, crusty piece of avocado toast! It’s always good.
  23. Salmon & Cream Cheese- These two delightful ingredients nestled on a bagel with all of the toppings is what a Sunday brunch is all about!
  24. Eggs Benedict- this isn’t something I have more than a few times a year, but if I go to a restaurant and they have it listed on the menu I will absolutely get it. No matter what’s on it, or what type of hollandaise sauce they concoct, I’m down for it. This dish is luxurious and special, so you really shouldn’t over do yourself with indulging in it too often.
  25. Pancakes & Bacon- this is something so memorable to me, and it just screams the weekend! On Saturday mornings I would wake up to the smell of this breakfast cooking downstairs, and my mom yelling up the steps to me that my food is almost finished. To this day.. my mom will still treat me with this when we have the morning to spend, and the day to kill.
  26. Macaroni and Cheese– Yes, this is a pasta dish, but it needs it’s own moment! Mac and cheese has got to be everyones go to comfort food! It goes with anything as the perfect side dish, and can even have expensive jewels of lobster mixed in it! So stunning!
  27. French Toast- I have always cut my French toast into sticks and dipped it into loads of syrup! I never drizzle.. only dip.
  28. Fruits & Vegetables– I eat fruits and veggies every single day.. or I try to! I enjoy eating them dunked into a delicious dip, or cooked in any sort of manner. Grapes are my favorite fruit, and green beans are my favorite vegetable.
  29. Hash-Brown Casserole- Throughout my childhood during the cold months of the year, my mom would make this time and time again. It is such a satisfying dish filled with everything you need from delicious browned beef, fresh veggies, and melty cheesy hash browns. The only thing you need is a drizzle of ketchup on top (yes ketchup) and you’re good to go!
  30. Scrambled Eggs with Cream Cheese & Chives- I know most of the time we think to put American or cheddar cheese in with our scrambled eggs, but trust me Diamonds… cream cheese is the absolute best when it comes to scrambling an egg. It gives the dish such a rich, luxurious taste & texture.
  31. Fried Vegetables- definitely don’t eat these all the time, but this is the one fair food I look forward to every year. Dip them into some seasoned ranch, or spicy cheese sauce and it’s just to die for!
  32. Cheese & Gravy Fries- This is the ultimate treat yourself side dish for me. It’s not something I eat everyday.. maybe not even monthly, but it is something I have always always loved. Fun fact- I also dip these in blue cheese dressing. I know, a bit crazy, but crazy good!!
  33. Charcuterie Boards/Pick Trays- as you Diamonds may already know from previous posts.. my favorite way to eat is to have a huge variety of all different delectable treats, and just pick, pick, pick!
  34. Lobster Roll- Whenever I visit a restaurant and they have a lobster roll on the menu I order it with no question. It’s such a treat yourself dish to me, and honestly.. when is it not a great time to treat yourself?! I am a huge fan of constantly doing whatever you need/want to make yourself happy!!
  35. Cold or Hot Wraps- I think you could put anything in a wrap and have it be super yummy! My favorite wraps are crispy chicken ranch wraps! They always hit the spot no matter what.
  36. Brownie a la Mode- I am just in love with a warm gooey chocolatey brownie with delicious cold ice cream melting right on top of it. I never stop there though! Breaking up cookies, candies, and drizzling dessert sauces on top it what sets it off tremendously.
  37. Peanut Butter Cups- My all time favorite candy ever. I truly am not a candy person, but this one of those that just sends beams of joy all throughout my body with every single bite!
  38. Cookies and Cream ANYTHING- I’m so obsessed with those little chocolate sandwich cookies so much that I literally will eat anything if it has them in it!
  39. Quiche- One of the most classic, classy brunch foods out there. Such a timeless dish!
  40. Soup- Soup, especially during this time of year is essential! Creamy soups are my absolute favorite!
  41. Chips dipped in cheese sauce- this is something very very very nostalgic to me. When I was very young I remember my brother and I always eating this snack while watching shows, or movies. He’s the one who got me hooked on this! It’s just plain salted potato chips dipped in mild cheese sauce. It’s not good for you, but it is good for the soul! 🙂
  42. Stuffed soft pretzels/soft pretzels with cheese- One of my favorite snacks in this life. The butterier the pretzel.. the better!
  43. Thanksgiving Dinner- There’s not much to say about this one considering we all know that this is on everyone’s favorite dinner list.
  44. Chinese Food- Once in a while.. especially during football season (for what reason? I’ll never know) I get such a craving for some good lo mein, greasy egg rolls, orange chicken, and crab Rangoon’s.
  45. Barbecue Chicken- this is something I probably can always go for. It makes a great salad, wrap, sandwich, quesadilla, or even just on it’s own.
  46. Caesar salad- I did mention salads in the very beginning, but this salad deserves some praise. It is my favorite ever, and I can truly eat it with anything, at any meal.
  47. Seafood- I had to put seafood in it’s own category because it deserves that and even more!! Seafood is just sensational, and I couldn’t live without it. There’s so many foods, dishes, and appetizers that I love that have seafood in it, so instead of naming everything that makes my mouth water, I combined it into one whole category.
  48. Dips– I am a dip girl through and through! The creamier, the better. And yes, dessert dips count!
  49. Prime Rib with horseradish sauce- I love a succulent piece of this meat on a holiday to make it feel that much more special. This is the ultimate piece of steak for me. Some people may find it too fatty, but I find it just right!
  50. Mozzarella Sticks- I mean you Diamonds probably already know.. there’s not much I even have to say for this one! It’s a classic.

Splitting 50 places into 25 that I’ve eaten at and love, and 25 places I’ve never eaten at, but definitely would love to visit in the near future.

25 Places that I love to eat at:

  1. Phillips Seafood- Now.. there are “Phillips seafood buffets”, but what I’m talking about it the gorgeous sit-down restaurant with a stunning atmosphere and decadent, delicious food.
  2. The Cheesecake Factory- This is probably my favorite restaurant on the planet. I love it so much, and of course the cheesecake is remarkable.
  3. Dicks- Although it is a fun & quite funny place to have a comical dinning experience at, their peanut butter pie is one of the best I’ve ever had in my life.
  4. The Fireside Lounge- They have awesome hoagies there as well as homemade meatballs. I’m truly not even a meatball person, but theirs are exceptional to me!
  5. Damons- The best place to get wings, a great club sandwich, or honestly anything at any time of the day. It’s just great!
  6. Bravo! Cucina Italiano- Everything about this place is incredible from the way you’re greeted at the door, to how immaculate they keep the bathrooms looking!
  7. The Ground Round- Even though there isn’t one is my area anymore, or even close to it.. I still think about this place very frequently. The “pot of gold” is something I wish I could still eat every weekend like I used to when I was a kid.
  8. Wendys- I truthfully don’t really care for fast food, but Wendy’s is where it’s at. It tastes like childhood to me, and has the best everything in my opinion! It holds a special place in my heart, and is the only thing I ever want when I don’t feel well.
  9. The Melting Pot- It’s a fun, magical, romantic dinning experience that everyone should give a try to at least once in their life.
  10. Chipotle- Some people may prefer its opponent, but I’m a Chipotle girl through & through.
  11. Red Robin- It’s a great place to have some good food after a day of shopping, and come on.. their burgers really are tasty!
  12. Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse- Their calamari is the best anywhere! It is on the more expensive side if you’re looking to get dinner, but lunch is lovely, and pretty reasonable on the budget.
  13. The Ovalon- A long time restaurant/lounge that has been around in my area for years and years. I’ve pretty much tried everything on the menu before, and never ever had a bad meal there. If you ever go.. you’ll instantly fall in love with the bread & butter they serve you as soon as you sit down!
  14. Subway- I know some people out there who hate it, but I always say.. “if you don’t like subway, you don’t know how to make the right sub”.
  15. Quaker Steak & Lube- Their wing night hits the heart.
  16. The Milk House Creamery – I am not an ice cream person, but I will say that this place makes an ice-cream lover out of me, for sure!
  17. Five Guys Burgers & Fries- I don’t care what anyone says.. it’s the best burger I have ever had!
  18. Harvest Seasonal Grill & Wine Bar- While creating their dishes to be whole, hearty, and healthy.. they still manage to make everything extremely tasty!
  19. Fat Heads Saloon- It’s the ultimate bar food. The wings and burgers are outstanding. I’ve only eaten there once, but I will never forget how insane everything was!
  20. Ruby Tuesday- As yummy as the food on the menu is.. I go for the salad bar A nice salad bar is one of my favorite things on this earth, and they really have the best one!
  21. Applebees- Just because their grilled cheese is a rush of nostalgia to me, and it hits the spot every time. It’s even better late-night.
  22. Red Lobster- They have the BEST caesar salad, and you Diamonds know how much I love caesar salad! We know the biscuits are iconic as well!
  23. Top of the 80’s- This spot is timeless, elegant, and amazing. They have a wonderful lunch menu where they change specials weekly, and their dinner is pretty awesome also! This is my mom & I’s place to be on a Saturday afternoon.
  24. Chick-Fil-A- An iconic spot for everyone of every age; plus their Mac & cheese is actually top notch!!
  25. The Hotel Hershey– Ending with the best, of course! Everything I’ve ever eaten from all of their restaurants was just superb!

25 Places I would love to dine at in the future:

  1. The Canning House
  2. In N Out Burger
  3. Shake Shack
  4. Max Brenner
  5. Seamore’s
  6. The Butchers Daughter
  7. Magnolia Bakery
  8. Laduree
  9. The Hummus and Pita co
  10. Bobby Flay Steakhouse
  11. Green Eggs Cafe
  12. The Egg Shop
  13. The Horny Ram NYC
  14. Turning Point
  15. LaScala’s Fire
  16. Ketchup
  17. Bottega Louie
  18. The Rex Burger & Lobster
  19. Milk & Cream Cereal Bar
  20. Levian Bakery
  21. Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer
  22. Bosie
  23. Butter
  24. Fresh
  25. The Penthouse restaurant

Briana Meshkofski1 Comment

Chocolate Chip Cookie S’mores Dip!

Diamonds! I am calling all chocolate & autumn lovers to come forward! 😉 This will be your ultimate dessert dip for the season! This is just like taking a classic cookie, and combining it with the most wonderful fiery fall treat that everyone enjoys around the campfire! THE S’MORE! It’s not only a cookie & a s’more, but A DIP that will be actually life changing to your world of desserts! I mean tell me Diamonds.. who would ever turn their nose up to a crazy delicious and super chocolatey dip?! It will be the most incredible chocolate journey that your taste buds have ever been on, and even though it’s a dip that is packed with chocolate, you’ll never get to that point where you’ll be sickened by all the sweetness since it has a touch of saltiness mixed into it, especially if you use the pretzels as a vessel! This is the most perfect snack item to add to your October party menu list because there won’t be anyone not digging into this thick, chocolatey delight of deliciousness! Now I know when you think of a fall dip normally the first thing that pops in your head is either a pumpkin, or apple pie flavored one, but I wanted to go a little bit out of the box, and do something you don’t really see everyday when it comes to talking about fall style food!

To create this delectable dip the first step is obviously getting all of your yummy ingredients together to make everything a lot easier for yourself!

The ingredients to concoct this super indulgent dip:

  • Five crunchy chocolate chip cookies to crumble & break up to add right into the dip.. insuring that the whole thing is going to give off an authentic chocolate chip cookie flavor.
  • 1/4 cup of light brown sugar. I find that especially for the fall that brown sugar is much more impactful than regular white sugar. It gives everything a richer, more comforting flavor when eating a dessert. That’s exactly what you want when it comes to autumn treats!
  • 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips!
  • 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips!
  • An unwrapped 8 oz. block of full fat cream cheese. If you are already making something using sugar, and sweets don’t worry about using low fat, or fat free products. It’s not worth it, and it’s better to make something that is meant to be indulgent taste exactly that!
  • 1/2 stick of melted butter.

ALSO NOTE: That if you are vegan do not think you can’t recreate this dip with everyone else! Just substitute everything for plant based products!!

You’re going to make a part of this dip that’s cold in a mixing bowl using a hand mixer, and then you’re going to melt everything on the stove as you see above that needs to get sticky, and fully melted!

  • In a sauce pot melt your half a stick of butter with the brown sugar, and white chocolate chips over low heat!

When this mixture is almost ready to have the heat completely turned off it will have the color, and consistency of caramel sauce!

As for mixing the cold ingredients.. drop the 8 oz. cream cheese block into a bowl with the crumbled up cookies, the chocolate chips, and a sprinkling of graham cracker crumbs!

On top of the cold ingredients that are waiting to be mixed.. pour in your warmed thick, sticky mixture! Right before combing everything together, toss in a hand full of marshmallows! Since we put the marshmallows directly onto the hot white chocolate caramel, they will instantly start to melt, and become gooey within the dip!

Mix, Mix, mix all of these beautiful ingredients together until the texture becomes thick and creamy with a mousse like appearance!

The most special way you can serve this dip is with chocolate chip cookies, graham crackers, and salted pretzels for that bite of saltiness you’ll be longing for to counteract some of the sweetness to be able to keep going in until it’s all gone! Then Diamonds.. just whip up some more! 😉

This is just one of the many mouthwatering fall filled treated I have coming for you Diamonds, so let’s make the best of this season!

Have an amazing start to this October month by making this delightful sweet & sticky dip!

XOXO

Briana Meshkofski2 Comments

Lunch On The Lake In Autumn.

Lunching on the lake is a necessity for celebrating occasions, and enjoying some relaxation. There’s truly nothing better than enjoying outstanding food with amazing drinks, while overlooking an incredible view with the people you love! I definitely think taking even just an afternoon to go take a few hours for yourself to unwind is something everyone needs to start doing at least once a week! We may think it’s being selfish in a way, but it is crucial to living a healthy, mindful life.

I definitely do believe people when they say “Lake life is the best life”. During my whole entire childhood I grew up loving the water, being crazy about constantly wanting to be in the pool in the summertime, and always being up for going to the waterpark. Doing anything that involves water, or being able to just daze off at a body of water while I indulge in some of the best food in the world always makes me one happy girl. Last Thursday my boyfriend and I celebrated nine years of dating, and we wanted to do something different, while still being pretty far away from other people. With that thought in mind the first thing I could think of, and couldn’t stop thinking of was wanting to be by the water. Lake harmony was the perfect choice to go to have the best food while gazing at some of the best views on a gorgeous fall day. They say there’s nothing better than a hot day at the lake, but I could argue that statement when you have a serene view of all the leaves changing on each & every one of the trees on top of the striking view of the lake with the speed boats flying by!

There are so many little adorable places to eat when you visit Lake Harmony, but the place you need to go visit is Nick’s Lake House! It is a staple up at the lake, and everyone knows about it.. it’s really the place to go! All the food is incredible, but something that you most definitely can not pass up is the pizza! Their pizza is by far one of the best pizza’s I ever had, and some of you Diamonds may not even think that considering it’s not a pizzeria, but it for sure is better quality than some pizzerias that I have ordered from! One of the things that makes or breaks how a pizza tastes is the dough, and this dough is insanely delicious! The crust is crazy crispy, and super chewy! I have to say Diamonds.. my mouth is watering just thinking about it, and as for the flavors.. you can not go wrong with any of them! They are all outstanding in their own way. It pretty much all just depends on what you are in the mood for that day you visit the lake!

You really can’t have a bad at lake..especially in autumn! The food, views, activities, and serenity brings so much joy & peace into your day. Whether you are celebrating an occasion as I was, or just going to enjoy your afternoon you will have the most tranquil fulled day up at Lake Harmony. I mean hey .. the name is Lake “Harmony” after all Diamonds! 😉 Sometimes the name of something really can express it’s full meaning!

Don’t forget to enjoy an Autumn filled day at lake with great food & awesome views before it gets too chilly out!

XOXO

Briana MeshkofskiLeave a comment

Pumpkin Marshmellow Cake Cookies!

These pillowy, moist, sweet & sticky cookies are everything you could ever want out of a fall filled cookie! They’re just the right amount of cookie & cake mixed into one delectable little pumpkin treat! This cookie is perfect for an on the go snack on the way to the pumpkin patch, to pile into a goodie bag to give to loved ones for a small Halloween gift, or a perfect dessert next to the fireplace after a cozy candle light dinner. However, whenever, or wherever you want to enjoy these.. it will be just the perfect fit because these delicate delights are always going to be DEVINE!

For everyone who knows me personally knows that I am more towards the culinary side of the spectrum rather than the pastry side, but there are still many things that I adore creating, inventing, and experimenting with, and these cookies are the definition of that! These pumpkin marshmallow cake cookies are the epitome of easy! Easy, easy, easy as the cookie world comes Diamonds! Sometimes when we hear “easy” when it comes to baking we kind of question ourselves if what we’re making is going to fit up to our standards of what we are imagining and wanting it to taste like. Fortunately.. just like in the culinary world.. when the word easy comes into play it mostly just means simple and fast.. not for every recipe, but for most! Some of the most simplest things in life are the most beautiful, and these babies are seriously so beautiful! Beautiful to look at and beautiful to devour!

The first two steps when baking anything is to combined the wet & dry ingredients: The wet ingredients is what you always want to first begin with!

  1. For the wet ingredients I combined 1 large egg, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree, 1tsp of vanilla extract, and 1 stick of melted butter together. The butter doesn’t have to be fully melted.. just make sure that it is really really softened!
  2. For the dry ingredients I combined 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1/2 tsp of baking powder, and 1 tsp of salt together in with the wet ingredients, and mixed everything together with a hand mixer!

The art of cake cookie creating:

Combine all of the cookie ingredients together on medium speed with the mixer. Add 1/2 cup of mini marshmallows for that gooey bite of pure sugary sweetness that we’re going to long for when indulging in these cookies! You want to make sure the cookie batter isn’t too thin, but also not too thick. Then take a spoonful of the mouthwatering pumpkin batter, and place them into a circular shape on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake these pumpkin marshmallow cake cookies at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes depending on the type of oven you have, and how soft & chewy you would like them!

  • This recipe makes 20-25 cookies depending on how big, or small you would like to make them!

These cookies are going to be a hit at your house this fall for parties, get togethers, autumn birthdays, and game days! You really can’t go wrong with cookies as a treat especially being pumpkin flavored in this fall season that we just arrived in! Everyone adores pumpkin spice everything when this season comes back for it’s return, so there isn’t going to be a better way to start of the spookiest month of the year! Since this is a cake cookie, you’re more than welcome to add icing onto these little pillows of joy, but the marshmallows inside of them gives it that creamy burst of sweetness just the same as any icing would! If you’re not too into overly sweet things I would for sure skip out on the icing, but if that’s right up your alley you can absolutely go for it! I thought these were phenomenal just as is, with a pumpkin spice latte to sip on while spending some self care time curled up on the couch in front of the first Hocus Pocus premier of the 50 that I will be having before the seasons over! 😉

Happy Fall & Happy Baking Diamonds!

XOXO

Briana MeshkofskiLeave a comment