Happy Birthday To...

Happy Birthday to the most amazing Dad a girl could ask for! 

To the dad that has encouraged me to be the best version of myself, who taught me all about cooking  (and yes grill in the rain) and who continues to encourage me to go after my dreams. Thank you for being my role model, my biggest supporter, and my shoulder to cry on. 

Thank you for teaching us that anything is possible with a little hard work and determination and for modeling that throughout our lives. I have put you through a lot over the year, but I wouldn't be the person I am today without you!

 I love you daddy, Happy Birthday!

{Comfort Food - Veggie Packed Penne with Spicy Chicken Sausage}

** Remember today is the last day to enter the Photo Book Giveaway!

Piping hot chocolate piled sky high with whipped cream, heaping bowls of veggie packed chili and steamy plates of good old spaghetti.  These are a few of the foods I crave on a cold December day!   I reach for dishes like these that are comforting, yet healthy during these long cold winter months! 

Doesn't that look delicious?  Want to learn how to make it? 

Veggie Packed Penne with Spicy Chicken Sausage:

Ingredients:

1 Box Whole Wheat Penne Pasta 

One 24 Oz. Jar Low Sodium Marinara Sauce ( I like Prego Heart Smart)

1 Green Pepper Chopped 

1/2 Onion Chopped 

1 Tomato Roughly Chopped

Pepper  and dried basil to taste

Parmesan Cheese for Serving

1 tsp Olive Oil or Butter 

3 Links Italian Style Chicken Sausage Chopped (I like Trader Joe's Brand) 

Directions:

1- Prepare pasta based on package directions.  

2- Chop your pepper, onion, tomato and chicken sausage.  Heat oil or butter in a skillet.  Once skillet is hot add your peppers and onion.  Saute until tender. 

3- Add your chopped tomato and sauté for 2 minutes. 

4- Add in chicken sausage (Trader Joe's brand comes precooked) and saute with veggies for 5 minuets until sausage is browned. 

5- Add your jar of tomato sauce and simmer for 10 minutes. 

6- Drain pasta and serve with sauce and Parmesan cheese if you desire! 

Enjoy! 

{Book Giveaway} The Unforgettable Photograph

Since starting my blog I have become fascinated with photography.  And as my little blog has progressed I find myself trying to take better and better pictures.  Taking good pictures can sometimes be tricky especially when the only camera you are using is your iPhone!  

Yes, eventually I will be investing in one of those beautiful DSLR cameras, but until then I make do with what I have.  But lets get back on topic!  I find that taking good pictures take a lot of practice, editing and patiences and sometimes learning a few new techniques!  That is why I was thrilled when Cooking Light Editor Scott Mowbray put together a book giveaway for the Cooking Light Bloggers, to promote the book The Unforgettable Photograph, 228 Ideas, Tips and Secrets for Taking the Best Pictures of Your Life, that he published!

Scott referenced the book as "An almost completely non-technical book that shows easy ways to take better pictures of anything." - Scott Mowbray 

"The book walks the reader through ideas, techniques and projects, all laid out in an instructive, beautiful way that will make better pictures inevitable for every reader." Workman Press Release 

The techniques in the book will work with a simple point and shoot camera, fancy high end camera or even your smartphone!  

So who is ready to win a copy of The Unforgettable Photograph?  Ready to learn how you can enter to win your very own copy?   Heres how to enter the giveaway.  You have 3 ways to enter!  

1- Leave a comment below telling me about the best picture you have ever taken. 

2- Bonus Entry - Follow Brunch and Cupcakes through Google and leave a comment below that you follow the blog

3- Bonus Entry - Follow Brunch and Cupcakes on Facebook and leave a comment below that you are a Facebook follower! 

The giveaway will end Next Monday 12/16.  I will announce the winner on Tuesday 12/17! 

Best of Luck! 

{Holiday Baking}

The holiday season is full of many wonderful things.  Quality time with family and friends,  hot chocolate, cookie baking, warm cozy blankets, and fireplaces to snuggle up by!  Those are just a few things I love about the holidays!  

And while I am not a baker at heart ( I don't have the patience for it) I find my desire to bake intensifies around this time of year!  It is as if my impatience with baking dwindles and I am able to sit back and enjoy the long drawn out process that baking can turn into.    

Maybe I enjoy baking so much this time of year because baking turns into a social affair during the holiday season.  I genuinely enjoy spending an afternoon with friends/family piled into a kitchen with sweet aromas filling the air.  Socializing with friends and loved ones while baking takes the chore feeling out of it!  

So today I figured I would share with you a few of my most favorite holiday treats!  You know, those treats that you just can't live without during the holiday season! A few oldies, some goodies and a few new found favorites! 

Enjoy! 

Must have Sweets! 

Peanut Butter Blossoms - Best when eaten warm straight from the oven! 

Peanut Butter Reeses Treats - Reese cup in the center of a peanut butter cookie! 

 Spritz

Red Velvet Mini Cupcakes - Cooking Light 

Frosted Sugar Cookies 

Happy Baking! 

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

(Source)

May your day be filled with family and friends!

Enjoy this time Giving Thanks for all the wonderful things in your life! 

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

I want to say a big "Thank You" to my family and friends supported and donated to the St Jude Give.Thanks Walk!  It was wonderful to see so many people out there Saturday morning (even in 18 degree weather), supporting such a wonderful organization like St Jude Children's Research Hospital.  This children's hospital is doing amazing things and I am so glad that I get to participate in fundraisers like the Give. Thanks walk to show my support! 

Thank you again! 

{Give Thanks}

Ever since I joined my sorority ( Delta Delta Delta) in 2006 I have been passionate about fundraising for St. Jude Children’s ResearchHospital in Memphis Tennessee.  Not just because St Jude and my sorority have a national partnership but because St Jude is truly a wonderful organization, that I believe in!  

Since joining my sorority I have been fascinated and amazed at all the amazing things that St Jude Children's Research Hospital does for their patients and patients families.  St Jude's is a place where passionate people work together to find cures for some of the most catastrophic childhood diseases.   St Jude Children's Research Hospital is a place filled with hope, love and compassion for the children and families that are served there.   No child will ever be turned away for treatment and no family will ever receive a medical bill from St Jude Children's Research Hospital, to me that is simply amazing.  Fundraising and supporting this wonderful mission and organization is a no brainer to me, and that is why this upcoming Saturday I will be taking part in the St Jude Give Thanks Walk. 

I walk because I care, because I want to give children who walk through the St Jude doors a fighting chance at life and because I believe in St. Jude Children Research Hospital as an organization.  

I give thanks for my faith, family friends, Derek, my health job and countless other things.  What do you Give Thanks for?  Walk with us Saturday, November 23rd @ 7 AM, Target Field.  Help give a child a fighting chance at life.  Click here to find a walk near you, sign up, or donate!  I want to say a personal 'Thank You' to all my friends and family who donated to this wonderful cause!  I truly appreciate the support! 

Lets make a difference together!