Romantic Playlist…. Fireside Chat List

 

1. Dear      Mr. Fantasy- Traffic
2. What      You Thought You Need- Jack Johnson
3. Son of a Preacher Man- Dusty Springfield
4. All My      Love- Led Zeppelin
5. The Sound of Silence- Simon and Garfunkel
6. Drops      of Jupiter- Train
7. What a      Wonderful World- Louis Armstrong
8. Set      Fire to the Rain- Adele
9. Sweet      Caroline- Neil Diamond
10. One-      U2 

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Pink Moscato Cupcakes

CozyCouples ™

May was a month of many emotions, my oldest son graduated high school and I tried to laugh while crying. The one thing that helped my emotional instability was baking. The clever boy asked me to homemake cupcakes for his special day.. this meant days of baking and decorating mini cakes for our guests to enjoy. One cupcake he wanted to make sure hit the desert table was Pink Moscato (I use Bare Foot because it is cheap and sweet).

NOTE: I am very lucky to have many women in my life who helped me make all the cupcakes and too drink lots of wine the day before the graduation party. Thank you lovely ladies:)

I first invented these dreamy cupcakes I March 24, 2013. My boys have been asking for them on a regular basis since…ENJOY!
Cream together 1/2 cup of real butter and 1 1/2 cups of sugar

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Man Vs. Woman (written by the woman): So I Hit the Camaro

Tags

conflict, couples, cozy, cozy couple, love, making-up, marriage, relationship

Approximately 2 falls ago I gave my husband permission to purchase a manly machine.  Well let me restate that, we came to the decision together that for my husband’s 40th birthday he would purchase an American muscle car… a 2010 Chevy Camaro in cyber grey.

The next two years went off without a ding, dang or dong in the car.  Oh wait I lie… Mr. Sorensen backed his car into our oldest son’s car the very next morning after or son said “dad you have the Camaro at a weird angle, you are going to his my car.” to which Mr. Sorensen replied, “I know how to drive it will be fine”! Well it wasn’t fine! Damage was minor I admit but visible none the less.

Let me restate the color of my husband’s car before I continue the story.  It is grey which in the sun it is a shade off the color of cement, however on a wet cloudy day it is the color of cement.  On a cloudy Wednesday we (as in all the members of the Sorensen household minus the husband) got into the rather large SUV and began our journey over to the church for youth group.

I would like to state again that it was cloudy outside, it was winter and we were heading into night hours so visibility may have been less than ideal.  We have a crack in the garage floor that tends to heave during cold weather.  I have grown accustom to slightly laying on the gas to exit the garage over the heaved crack. I had also been startled a couple of weeks prior when I accidently hit the garage foor.  I may have been cranking the wheel to angle the SUV left out of the garage but I couldn’t really say either way.  That particular evening Mr. Sorensen decided to leave his “baby” sitting in the driveway.  His mirror was lingering on my side of the driveway even.  Well long story short.  We all got into the truck with the radio playing a very sing-along type of song and the next thing I know my husband is crying!

I backed out with Mr. Sorensen standing by his car waiting to get into the passenger’s side and as he watched I hit the darn car!  No I didn’t total it, yes it is still drivable but Lord you might think I shot him in the chest as he hit the truck with is fist yelling, “STOP”!  Well I did…after I sunk my rear right corner of my bumper into his left side passenger fender.  Whoops!

I immediately got out of the vehicle and offered my condolences in the way of …”Oh my God, I am so sorry” and the infamous, “I didn’t do it on purpose”.  However my sorrows quickly faded as he told me he was going to vomit then through his finger up at me and said, “DO NOT follow me into this house, I need a few minutes without seeing you.”  Really??!!! WOW

He was on the phone with the body shop faster then I could spit out I’m sorry again.  It took him a few minutes but he eventually talked to me and said he was sorry about how he treated me.  All is fine in the Sorensen house hold again…crisis survived but my check book is very unhappy!

Did I mention the car is cyber grey?  The color of wet cement?

Written by Rachel Sorensen

Taco Cupcakes

Tags

cupcakes, jargaritas, tacos, vegetarian

My facebook friends have been introduced to my attempt to make cupcakes for my Beloved’s birthday.  It was a stunning defeat, to say the least.  Word to the wise…if yer outta eggs and decide you’re gonna replace them in a baking recipe, you should damn well know how the eggs are acting in the recipe.  Binder? Leavener? Know it before you start.  Or you could end up with this:

Baking is about ratios.  For someone who is perpetually adjusting (or disregarding) recipes, it’s better to just stick to cooking fun foods, and leave the baking to the pros.  Like my mama! She makes the best pies.

Anyhoo.  Tacos.  As cupcakes. Awesome.

If you’re a Pinterest fanatic like me; you may have already seen the taco cupcake recipe floating around.  It looks AWESOME. But a little less than (my version of) healthy.

So I thought I’d tart it up a bit.

Starting with my homemade freezer salsa verde.

You need:

• An Oven
• A muffin pan
• Wonton wrappers (2 per Cupcake)
• Red and/or Green Salsa
• 1 cup or so of cooked Black Beans (canned is fine)
• Cumin
• Chili Powder
• Turmeric
• Black Olives (optional)
• A pile of shredded Cheddar Cheese (hubby always grates too much.  I think it’s so he can eat it.)
• assorted taco awesomeness (I’ve chopped up and cooked onions and squash and tossed it in these suckers.  Amazing.)
• Guacamole for topping

Preheat your oven to 375.  Grease your muffin pan with your greasy goodness of choice.

Gently heat the black beans in a saucepan, add cumin, chili powder, and a bit of turmeric.  Do this to your taste.  I love cumin, so it gets a little crazy in my kitchen.

Place a wonton wrapper in as many cups as you’re gonna make. (leftovers.  seriously.) Dollop some black beans and salsa (and whatever other extras you like) in each cupcake.

Sprinkle some black olives and cheese on them.

Now press a second wonton into each cup, sealing in the first layer.  It doesn’t have to be pretty.

Make your second layer just like the first.  Black beans, salsa, extra fixins, black olives and cheese.

Pop those bad boys in the oven and bake for about 18 minutes.  You decide when they look crispy enough for ya.  Let them sit for about 5 minutes, then pop em out.  Use a butter knife to release the edges if they get stuck.

These are the red salsa ones…yummo.

We ate them with lemon-garlic asparagus, but a salad would rock it too.

Bless and Enjoy!

beverage pairing: Jargaritas. Seriously.

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Popcorn is TOO a meal!

Tags

couples, cozy, cozy couple, Date night, Grilled Cheese, love, marriage, meals for two, popcorn, relationship, romance, romantic

Ghee and Pesto Drizzled over Popcorn

At least in my house it is.  If I’m seriously crushed for time, feeling lazy, watching a movie, or the popcorn bowl is clean…we’ll have popcorn for dinner.  I have to buy the stuff in bulk.

(Why in the world am I writing about popcorn as a meal? Our theme this month, as you might have noticed, is on entertainment.  Popcorn is the ultimate food to consume while watching movies, TV, playing games, entertaining friends, etc.  Anyone who says otherwise has obviously never had popcorn.  Ever.)

I grew up eating the good stuff at grandma’s house, cooked in a heavy bottom kettle in oil, then doused in melted butter and salt.  It gave me a stomach ache, but it was delicious.  At home it was microwave or in the Stir Crazy.  The Stir Crazy terrified me; I was always scared that when I flipped it over, I’d drop it on my face.

I was such a logical kid.

The two and a half years I had braces were supposed to be popcorn free.  I made it a month or two.  If my face was gonna hurt on and off for TWO AND A HALF YEARS, you can bet I wasn’t giving up popcorn.

Now I use an air popper, but I add my homemade ghee (clarified butter), salt, and/or a bunch of other toppings.

What would those be? I’m glad you asked.

Start with quality popcorn.  There are some great organic options with minimal Old Maids (those kernels that just won’t pop).  I like Natural Value 100% Organic Yellow Popcorn.

Option 1: Melt some ghee, and add hemp powder (a complete protein).  After drizzling this mixture over popped popcorn, I’ll sprinkle turmeric, nutritional yeast (salty), pepper and garlic powder on, toss it up real good, and boom.  Have napkins.  Prepare to have yellow fingers.

Option 2: Melt some ghee.  Mix pesto into the melted ghee.  A smoother pesto means fewer chunks in the final product.  Drizzle/dribble mixture over and toss to coat.  Sprinkle some parmesan over top!

Option 3: This one sounds a little out there, but I promise it’s yummy.  Melt even parts ghee, honey and peanut butter.  Add soy sauce and garlic powder to taste.  Drizzle this gooey mixture over popcorn, liberally coat w/ nutritional yeast, and toss.  It’s sweet and savory, surprisingly tasty.

If you can’t bear the thought of just eating popcorn for dinner, go make you and your love some grilled cheese sandwiches.  Just make sure to cut them on the diagonal.  

Leinenkugel makes a lovely Snowdrift Vanilla Porter that goes well with everything this time of year.  As for wine, go for sweet and fizzy.  Think Moscato d’Asti.

Bless and Enjoy!

Moving to Wordpress!

After a year of traditional hosting CozyCouples has decided to move to a WordPress Blog format.  We are very excited because this will give the 8 of us the opportunity to publish more articles within a month and allow commenting made easy.  Our social media will also be easier to use.  Thank you for the wonderful year we have had.  We look forward to hearing from all of you soon.

Rachel Sorensen