Learned I could do this...

...with iMovie: Make movie trailers. I can't wait until we have kids. Our home movies are going to be so action-packed now!

 

 

Tax time

I used to look forward to tax return season... I was single, my withholdings were correct, and I always got both federal and state returns. Easy money right into my pocket.

 

Then I got married (the first time), and my filings went to hell in a hand basket. I lived in NY, worked in NJ, and the jackass' my ex's withholdings were way too low. We owed, big time. Then I was filing as single again, but had been married part of the year, and moved back to NJ from NY... Owed a little, basically broke even, started dreading tax season. After that, we moved to Texas halfway through a tax season, so that fouled things up again. Plus J owed some money after moving, selling/buying a house, etc. I felt like I'd never get a return again.

 

So, here we are getting ready to file our 2012 returns. I've used every calculator I can find... They all say we're getting a refund, but I can't bring myself to believe it. Our withholdings are correct (even with us now filing jointly), we've been in our home the whole tax season, and we don't have state income tax here so we're just dealing with the fed. I'm still wary though.

 

Our tax appointment is on Monday, so if I post on Tuesday that we're going to Disney World getting a new patio and kitchen appliances, then you'll know those calculators were correct. If I start blogging about extreme couponing, just assume that we're now broke and need to live off of whatever processed food we can buy en masse for $0.50 with coupons.

 

Cherry berry dump cake

I'd like to preface this recipe by saying that I loathe the term "dump cake." Loathe it! It doesn't paint an appetizing mental picture for me at all, and contrary to that, this cake is tasty and super easy. Seriously, our dog could make this cake, but since he can't operate a can opener he's just shit out of luck. You, however, can make it...

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 can blueberry pie filling
• 1 can cherry pie filling
• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1-1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
• Chopped walnuts

Almost every ingredient is able to be substituted. Swap cherries for pineapple tidbits, yellow cake for chocolate cake, pecans for walnuts... Seriously. As long as you have 2-cans of filling to 1-box of mix, and the butter (that's the key ingredient), you're good to go.

 

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F

In a large baking dish, mix together fruit fillings. Layer about 3/4 of the dry cake mix over the fruit mixture. Important: Do not mix your mix! You want it the way it is straight out of the box. Sprinkle nuts on top of cake mix layer.

 

Pour the melted butter on top of everything. Gently tip your pan to distribute the butter evenly. If you notice any spots that seem extra soggy, or have pooling butter, add the remainder of the dry cake mix to those areas.

 

Bake, uncovered, for 45-60 minutes. You want the entire top of the cake to have a light, golden brown crust, without any moist areas. It could be baked for less time at a higher temperature, but you risk the edges burning and the cake getting hard and tough.

 

Allow to cool slightly before serving, as the filling is akin to molten lava immediately upon removal from the oven.

 

Struffoli

I got Jeremy the Sopranos series for Christmas. When we first moved to Texas, A&E was running Sopranos episodes every Sunday morning. We'd sit around, eat breakfast, and enjoy a little bit of familiarity in our home. A&E, of course, bastardized the show with crazy censoring and commercials, but we took what we could get. Then they stopped running it. So, just like that, I was able to check off a Christmas gift idea from my list.
 
We've now been working our way through the series, and it's the only thing that's been on our tv in over a week... And we're only about halfway through. Anyway, we enjoy watching and pointing out the places that we know (Bada Bings is a real place, by the way. It has a different name in real life, but Jeremy someone from our household has been there.) In addition to places, we frequently drool over the Italian food that we miss so much down here in Texas. Sfogliatelle, cannoli, peppers and eggs... You get the idea.
 
Last night an episode came on and Carmela is in her kitchen with a pastry box. The first thing out of Jeremy's mouth? "What's in the box?" They could've said any line, or revealed any plot twist and we wouldn't have noticed. We wanted to know what delicacy we were about to have paraded around in front of us.
 
It was struffoli. Honey balls. Fried bits of dough lovingly coated with honey and stacked into mountainous arrangements. I needed it, and I needed it bad. So I popped into the kitchen and made a mess whipped this up:
 

 
And since I can't feed all of y'all, here is my recipe so you can make your own at home.
 
INGREDIENTS:

• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• Oil for frying
• 1-1/2 cups honey
• Cinnamon to taste
• Lemon or orange zest to taste
• 3/4 cup pine nuts or slivered almonds (optional)
• colored candy sprinkles (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl, mix 2-1/2 cups of the flour with the sugar, baking powder, lemon rind, and salt. Make a well in the middle and drop in the eggs and melted butter. Mix with a wooden spoon and then with your hands until dough leaves the sides of the bowl.
 
Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead in the remaining 1/2 cup flour, as needed until dough is no longer sticky. Break off pieces of dough and roll into ropes about the diameter of a thick pencil. Cut into pieces 1/4 inch long. Roll these pieces into little balls (optional) and set aside.
 
In deep frying pan, pour oil about 1-2 inches deep and heat. Fry balls until golden brown (1-3 min depending on oil temperature). Drain on paper towels.
 
In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring the honey to a slow boil. Add in cinnamon and citrus zest, if desired. Allow honey to gently boil for a couple of minutes. Add the balls to the honey and stir gently until well-coated.
 
Remove balls from honey and stack onto a platter so that they form a large mound. Sprinkle with nuts and/or candy sprinkles, if desired. Allow to cool.
OR
Place a glass in the middle of a platter. Remove balls from honey and stack onto platter so that they form a ring around the glass. Sprinkle with nuts and/or candy sprinkles, if desired. Allow to cool and remove glass.