Bougie Girl Life

Sometimes, you are craving both dark chocolate with some added sugar.  The result are these dark chocolate cupcakes (made from a Duncan Hines mix) which I dipped in confectioner's sugar. These cupcakes were a hit with our small and social distanced gathering.  They also went well with the dessert Sherry which we happily consumed.

These grey and white curtains changed the game for my living room decor. Generally, I am not a fan of  decorating with single panel curtains.  However, both the length of these panels plus their intricate pattern made a believer out of me.  (Curtains and brackets are from Lowe's. Curtain rod, lamp, and lamp shade are from Walmart. The stand is from Nebraska Furniture Mart. Candles are from Dollar Tree, the cookbooks were gifted to me, and the book end is a repurposed lamp from Dollar General.)

Served these vegan crisps with a tapenade-ish side.  I opted not to use the food processor for the would be tapenade.  The vegan crisps are lightweight and need a heavier dip.  Ingredients for Chips 2 vegan pizza crusts cut into large triangles or strips. 1/3 cup of Extra Virgin Olive oil 1/4 of dried basil 2 tbsp of fresh or dried rosemary 1 tbsp of  fresh or dried thyme 2 tbsp of cumin powder 3 tbsp of  red chili powder 1/4 lemon juice Baking spray Instructions for Chips Dump the ingredients in a sealable freezer bag.  Add in the vegan crisps.  Gently shake the freezer bag until the crisps are covered in herbs and spices. Lightly coat the cookie sheet with baking spray. Place the vegan crisps on top of the cookie sheet.  Ingredients for Tapenade-ish 1/3 cup of  sauteed Baby Bella mushrooms 1/3 cup of  sauteed grape tomatoes 1 tbsp of dried basil 1 tsp of pepper 1 tsp of fresh or dried rosemary Instructions for Tapenade-ish Stir ingredients into a bowl Serve

I am craving breadsticks and pizza sauce. However, I do not want to pay restaurant prices for them.  Fortunately, I have homemade pizza sauce stored in the freezer. Now for the breadsticks, I have no plans on making them from scratch. (Maybe, next month I will attempt to make breadsticks from scratch.) For now, the Great Value brand of  frozen  garlic breadsticks (roughly around $2.00 a box) from my neighborhood Walmart will have to suffice.  They do not disappoint and the garlicky flavor is further enhanced by the pizza sauce.  A definite appetizer win for me. 

I received this lovely homemade housewarming gift last month from my eldest nephew. It is the perfect accessory for my front porch. 

      Last month, I tried my hand at making vegan nachos. The results were both yummy and filling.  I used leftover vegan pizza crust for the chips. I sliced them into the size of a standard triangle shaped tortilla chip. Ingredients Ingredients for Chips 2 vegan pizza crusts cut into triangles. 1/3 cup of Extra Virgin Olive oil 1/4 of dried basil 2 tbsp of fresh or dried rosemary 1 tbsp of  fresh or dried thyme 2 tbsp of cumin powder 3 tbsp of  red chili powder 1/4 lemon juice Baking spray Ingredients for Nachos 1/2 cup of  frozen corn 1/2 green pepper sliced or chopped 1/4 cup of red onions 2 garlic cloves 1/4 cup of cubed potatoes (roughly 6 baked steak fries chopped up) 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil Cooking Directions for Chips Place the triangles along with the rest of the  chip ingredients into a sealed freezer bag. Shake well.  Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread out the triangles onto sheet pan sprayed with baking spray.  Bake for 10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and c

Autumn weather took its own sweet time to arrive here within the Kansas City metro area.  Next week, I will venture out past this tree to see whether the leaves have completely changed colors. Hopefully, the leaves will still be on the trees.