Best Darn Caramel Icing

So this icing recipe has nothing healthy about it, but it is the most delicious caramel icing you will ever put in your mouth. It is a recipe passed down from my mom to me, so now I get to share with you! Pair this icing with your favorite boxed yellow cake mix or I like to use Real Simple's homemade yellow cake recipe.( http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/yellow-cake )

It is fairly simple and this recipe makes a great amount for a layered cake, 24 cupcakes or a sheet cake. 

Here are the ingredients:

-1 stick of unsalted butter 

-1 cup of brown sugar (light or dark)

-1/4 teaspoon of salt

-1/4 cup of milk 

-1 bag of powdered sugar (1 lb.) 

-1 teaspoon of vanilla 

 Instructions:

1. Stir the butter, brown sugar, salt, and milk on the stove top in a medium sized pot until it is all melted and comes to a slight boil. 

2. Remove pot from the stove and add the powdered sugar and vanilla and stir until it becomes smooth. 

IMPORTANT- This icing gets hard really quickly so once you have made it, you must ice your cake or cupcakes ASAP. So, have your cupcakes and cakes cooled before you even make the icing. 

REAL SIMPLE Blueberry muffins.

Hi friends! Sorry I have been MIA lately but school and other obligations have been keeping incredibly busy. That being said I am all about quick and easy homemade recipes these days. Last Sunday for church I had to make some blueberry muffins. I googled "easy blueberry muffin recipes" and not any surprise to me a recipe from Real Simple came right up. These muffins are super easy and great for a special breakfast.
Here is the recipe and link to recipe BUT remember to add extra blueberries-makes them even better!
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/blueberry-muffins

I promise more of my own recipes will be coming soon!
xoxo,
Anna Crew

Holiday Sparkle Shoes- My Latest Steal

      So recently I found sparkly, rose gold, Mary-Jane pumps made by Kate Spade. I really considered buying them but just could not justify it because of their price and my budget. So, I did some research and I found similar ones from amazon. YES... Amazon. I am almost embarrassed to admit how cheap these were but you cannot deny a good deal.
       I received them in the mail today, and I am more than pleased and plan on wearing them friday night for my Friendsgiving party.

Here are the original Kate Spade:

Yes, they are fabulous but at a lofty price of 350$.

And here are my steal pair:

Yes, they are different but they are sparkly and mary-janes, which you can never go wrong with during this festive time of year. Oh, and the best part about these is that they were only 20$. 

 (brand-SODA)

XOXO,

Anna Crew 

Super Easy Vegetarian Chili

I absolutely love vegetarian chili. My mom has a wonderful recipe that I partially claim as my own. It's great to make and freeze some so you don't have to eat it 3 nights in a row. I kind of hate admitting that I used canned beans and tomatoes for the recipe because I try to always used dry beans and fresh tomatoes but it's too good not to share.  Enjoy!

Ingredients: 

1 cup of black bean soup (I use Amy's organic black bean soup- you can find it at publix or whole foods) 

1 can of organic kidney beans 

1 can of organic Cannelilli beans (white beans) 

1 can of organic chickpeas 

1 can of organic diced tomatoes 

1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped 

1 tablespoon of chili powder or 1 package of chili seasoning 

1 1/2 teaspoon of oregano (fresh or dried)

1 1/2 teaspoons of  parsley (fresh or dried) 

1 1/2 teaspoons of basil (fresh or dried) 

Instructions: 

Combine all ingredients in crockpot starting with black bean soup and cook on high for 2 hours. 

Xoxo, 

Anna Crew 

Franny's Peach Crisp

Peach Crisp. 

My sweet friend and fellow blogger shared with me this awesome recipe of hers. She is a super talented baker who makes pretty and tasty cupcakes. Check her blog out by CLICKING HERE. 
(Disclaimer: I would use a regular size casserole dish for the whole recipe, when I made mine I made it into two separate dishes that were smaller but know that the recipe listed below makes more than a pie dish full.)

Below is the recipe and it is so simple and  a perfect use for your South Carolina peaches (Or Georgia or California but SC's are the best). In the winter I may try and make this with pears for a winter dessert. I served it warm with Breyer's vanilla ice cream. 

SC peaches 

Ingredients:

-7-9  ripe fresh peaches 

-1 cup sugar

-1 cup flour

-1/2 cup white sugar 

-1/2 cup brown sugar

-1 tsp cinnamon

-1 egg

- 1 stick of salted butter 

Directions: 

Sliced peach and sugar filling

 Cut 7-9 peaches and add a cup of sugar and pour them in casserole dish.

Mix in a separate bowl 1 cup flour,

1/2 cup white sugar, 

1/2 cup brown sugar, 

1 tsp cinnamon, and 

1 egg  

Then dice a half a stick of butter and mix it in the flour mixture (to make crumbles) and sprinkle the mixture on top of peaches. 

Then melt the other half stick of butter and pour it over the whole dish.
  

Ready to bake. 

Bake on 350 for 35-40 minutes (until top is crispy)

Thanks for this recipe Mary Francis! 

xoxo, 

Anna Crew 

YUM!

Last minute 4th of July dessert.

Need an easy last minute 4th of July dessert? I had the idea to make meringues because I had some really delicious ones from Trader Joes recently. The recipe I found is actually a  from the McCormick website and they are wonderful! I decided to make them white and blue and pair them with a red plate for this lovely holiday.  Here is the link to the recipe:

www.mccormick.com/Recipes/Dessert/Festive-Meringue-Cookies

The key to making your meringues is following the instructions carefully and use less food coloring than what the recipe calls for- a little goes a long way! Also, once you have mixed all the ingredients you must put the batter in a gallon ziplock with an icing head to squirt out like you are icing a cake. Make neat little stacks of the meringue batter and they will bake perfectly. I LOVE these sweet treats and they are light and airy perfect to go along with all of your outdoor grilling. 

Enjoy! 

xoxo, 

AC 

My Favorite Pie Recipe

I have been into making pies lately. I find it a new challenge especially with how temperamental the crust is. I recently found a strawberry and rhubarb pie recipe from my food network magazine. I am going to share this link because this recipe is fabulous,  and if you do not have rhubarb on hand or easily accessible, I have an alternative recipe with just strawberries listed below.

Here is the link to the strawberry and rhubarb pie (use the crust in this recipe for the pie with or without rhubarb): http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nancy-fuller/strawberry-rhubarb-pie.html

Here is my strawberry rhubarb pie: 

Note: If you have never baked or cooked with rhubarb, it is a super cool ingredient. It taste bitter before you bake it but once you bake it you barely even notice it because it becomes sweet with a small tart taste. Delish! 

Here is my pie without the rhubarb where I used the same crust from the link listed above but for the filling I used the recipe listed below the picture:

-5 1/2 cups of strawberries (sliced) 

-1 1/4 cups of sugar 

-1/3 cup of all purpose flour 

-1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon 

Simply mix these ingredients together for the filling and once the crust is made and set in the dish pour in this mixture.