Work It Wednesday {#7}

Happy Halloween!! Are you doing anything fun? Any Halloween parties you're attending? What are you dressing up as?? We're hoping to make it to a party at some close friends' house. Zachary and I are going as flowers and our dog is a bumblebee. I'll be sure to let ya know how it turns out. :)

As excited as I am that it's Wednesday and I can't wait to see what you've all been doing since last week's party {Which was awesome by the way. So many great things linked up!}, I am SO looking forward to this weekend! The hubs and I are making a weekend getaway into the big city. We're getting someone to watch our pup {I know, we're dorky pet owners that get sitters for our dog. Laugh all you want, but I am stoked about it.} and it's going to be just Zachary and I for 1 whole day! That may seem lame to get excited over. 1 day, big whoop. But it has been months since it's been just us two, no dog, no work, no nothin'. It's going to be epic. Plus, we're going to get a lot of good Christmas shopping in! {And by Christmas shopping I mean buying a whole bunch of clothes that I plan to save for Christmas, but end up wearing for the entire month beforehand. It is what it is.}

In the meantime, I'm going to cuddle up in a nice warm blanket, watch me an episode of New Girl, and blog stalk all of you fabulous people! First off, here are my favorite projects from last week! Eat your heart out, folks.

Steps to a Perfect Red Lip from The Art of Beauty.

Cinnamon Streusel Pumpkin Bread by Michelle's Tasty Creations.

Breakfast Pizza by Call Me Pmc.

Cheesecake Ice Cream and Apple Cake by Cocalores.

Apple Pie Nachos by For the Love of Cooking.

Nutella Oreo Cheesecake by Back for Seconds.

DIY Clothespin Magnets by Hubby Made Me.

Don't they all look spectacular?? I think so, too. If you were featured, be sure to grab yourself a featured button here! Now, let's get down to the nitty gritty. Remember the two rules:

#1 - Link up anything and everything {recipes, crafts, projects, tutorials, etc.} that has been made by you. I don't care what it is as long as it isn't a shop, giveaway, advertisement, link party or something of the like.
#2 - Please link back to us in some way, shape, or form. I understand how annoying this can be sometimes, so I've made a lovely super ugly button {I know, I'm working on it. Give me some time.} for you to put on your blog. You can also put a text link at the end of your post or even put our link in your party page. Just please give credit where credit is deserved!

<center> <a href="http://highheelsandgrills.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--mmaYLwHrnA/UGKGjtHCLSI/AAAAAAAABI4/uZLWnI3KBU8/s1600/work+it.jpg" /></a></center>
If after doing these 2 things, you decide you want to subscribe to us via E-mail,  follow us on Pinterest, like us on Facebook, or follow us onTwitter, I would definitely not object! Thank you all. With that being said, work it friends and show me what you've got!!

Ranch Popcorn

Are you guys ready to learn about our most favorite snack ever? I've been eating this stuff since I was a sophomore in high school and I have loved it ever since. I introduced Zachary to it a couple months after we were married and he was super skeptical at first. After much begging and pleading, he gave in and has joined in my obsession over it. This post isn't so much of a "sharing a recipe" post, but more of a "sharing one awesome, incredibly delicious, and addicting snack" post. Be excited.

Last year, Zachary and I went through every single episode and season of Lost {biggest waste of time, by the way}, and I can probably count on one hand the number sessions of watching it where we didn't have a nice, big bowl of Ranch Popcorn by our side. It's delicious and is probably responsible for the five pounds we each gained in a few week's time. Meh. I'd say it's worth it. Give it a go!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup popcorn, unpopped
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) salted butter, melted {I like butter. So, what?}
• 2-1/2 tsp. Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning{I know you might be tempted to buy something other than the Hidden Valley brand, but trust me, you do not want to do this. This brand is what makes it!}

Directions:

1. Pop your popcorn with an air popper into a large bowl. 
2. Pour the butter evenly over the popcorn, stirring while you do so.
3. Pour the ranch seasoning evenly over the popcorn as well and mix thouroughly.
4. Taste the goodness.

Obviously you can put more or less butter and ranch seasoning to your liking, but this is how we like it. Enjoy!

-Sarah

Linking up here.

Hearty Chili

Welcome to another Man Monday!

Some things just make you feel like a man. You know how we all have this "biological clock" thing? Well, I think guys have a 'man'ograph that measures manly events, kinda how a seismograph measures earthquakes. The day I discovered my first chest hair (like a year ago at the ripe age of 27... don't make fun... when I'm 65 y'all will be jealous that I still look 40) my manograph hit a record 8.0 peak. The first time I shaved? A 7.5. When I was teaching Sarah how to drive a manual car, my manograph measured 5.0. I also think we force our own manographs to go off occasionally... we need it to survive. That's probably why we burp, spit, and do *ahem* other things more often - it's to reassure ourselves we are men and to ensure our manographs are working.

Well men (or women who want to please your man...), if you need a little reassurance of your manliness, make this chili - and eat it. It's a far more pleasant way to find that reassurance than the other smelly and gross methods. Also, I'll be honest, it was pretty easy and of course it tastes great too. You'll get a recorded manograph activity of at least 4.0 by just making it and at least an additional 5.0 by eating it. See? It's totally worth it.

Oh, and I'll warn you, this makes a lot of chili. It will feed Sarah and I all week at least. Furthermore, if you would like the recipe for the best cornbread ever to go with it, pay a visit here. You won't regret it.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Chili seasoning
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle pepper powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion salt
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 whole onion, chopped
• 2 bell peppers, chopped (I recommend at least one of them being red - it's sweeter and adds a nice touch)
• 2 jalepeños, chopped (and seeded of course)
• 1 (28 oz) can chopped tomatoes 
• 2 medium sized fresh tomatoes, chopped
• 1 (15 oz) can of black beans, drained
• 1 (15 oz) can of pinto beans, drained
• 1 (15 oz) can of kidney beans, drained
• 1 (15 oz) can of creamed corn (or 2, 8 oz cans)
• 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste (if you like thicker chili like me)

Directions:

1. Heat up your olive oil in a large pot on medium heat. Sauté your garlic for 1-2 minutes. Don't burn it! 
2. Salt and pepper your ground beef and add it to the pot. Break it apart as you stir. As it's browning, add your chili seasoning mix and stir.
3. The next part is super easy. Add the rest of the ingredients, and stir. That's it. See, told you so. (Sarah hates it when I say that) Cook on medium-low heat for at least one hour, stirring occasionally.

This chili might actually save the world. Men will feel manlier, while women will feel less side-effects from men's manographs activating. I should get a Nobel Awesome prize or something...

-Zach

Linking up here.

Honey Butter Pull-Apart Rolls

I just want to say thank you to all of you that gave me good wishes after a stressful week of work. While the craziness isn't completely eliminated, things have been much better after our staff meeting. I guess I can't complain too much though. What else do I expect from being in a crowded area with 5 other women? Uh, bring on the drama!

Anyway, as we were preparing Sunday dinner last week, I knew I needed a side of some yummy rolls to complete the meal. My mom made the best rolls growing up and I was so excited to get her awesome recipe from her! I gave her a call and...she was in the car. Coming home from Disneyland. Without her roll recipe anywhere near her. Who does that? Talk about a failed plan! {And talk about the jealousy that ensued as I wished I had just spent the weekend in Disneyland. Sheesh.} I guess I'll have to share that recipe with you another time, but in the meantime, I found this delicious roll recipe at Readable Eatables, but decided to put a sweet spin on it. I present to you, these divine honey butter rolls!

Can I be completely honest here? I may or may not have eaten 3 of these rolls for dinner that Sunday. I just couldn't help myself. Lack of portion control? Yes. Was it oh so worth it? Most definitely. After both Zachary and I's first bite, we looked at each other and knew this was going to be a recipe that we made for us and for our kids and for our grandkids and for our great grandkids, etc. all the way until we are dead. You have got to try them! They'll rock your world.

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups hot water {as hot as you can get it out of the tap.}
• 1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3-1/2 to 4 cups bread flour {or all-purpose flour is fine)
• 3/8 cup (3/4 stick) salted butter, melted
• 3 Tbsp. honey
• 3/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

*Note: I did this in my stand mixture with my dough hook and it was the easiest thing ever. Hand mixing should work well too, but I highly recommend it in a stand mixer if you have one!*

1. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray; set aside.
2. In a small bowl, mix together water, yeast, and sugar; let stand until frothy, about 5 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, combine the oil, salt, 2 cups of flour, and the yeast mixture until well combined.
4. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl and is no longer sticky.
5. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until elastic, about 8 minutes.
6. Place the dough in the greased bowl and cover with a damp cloth; let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
7. After doubled, punch down dough and lay on floured surface. 
8. Preheat oven to 375°F.
9. Roll dough out until about 20 inches by 12 inches.
10. In a small bowl, combine butter, honey, and salt.
11. Brush dough with half of the butter mixture.
12. With a pizza cutter, cut dough lengthwise into sixths and crosswise into twelfths.
13. Make stacks of 4 dough squares and place each stack into a greased muffin tin cup.
14. Brush with the remaining butter mixture.
15. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown. 
16. Serve warm.

My favorite part is when they're right out of the oven and they've got almost a caramelized glaze all over them. Mmm-mm good. I think I'm going to go make a batch right now. Enjoy!

-Sarah

Linking up here.

Chicken Alfredo Biscuit Bake

*Don't forget to enter our latest giveaway for a free sample of Shaklee's Basic H2!*

Do you ever go to a restaurant and want so badly to try something other than what you always get, but you can't work up the courage to do so because you know that your usual is delicious and it's your favorite and you'll regret not getting it once your order arrives? That's how I feel about fettuccinne alfredo at Olive Garden. I don't know that I've ever had anything other than that besides the soup and salad combo. I'm an alfredo diehard! It definitely trumps marinara sauce with no contest. So when I came across this recipe for Chicken Alfredo Biscuit Bake in a Pilsbury cookbook a while ago, I knew I was going to love it! For the record, I was so right.

When I saw that this recipe called for mushrooms, I immediately crossed that off my list of things to buy. I am not a mushroom fan and will do whatever it takes to avoid having to pick them out of my food. Then, the part of me that makes me want to be a good wife, remembered that Zachary loves mushrooms. I sat on the couch and had an internal struggle for a while. I decided to get half the amount of mushrooms that this calls for and only put them in his half! {Yes, we each get a half of whatever we cook. Oh the joys of being kidless!} It worked out great and I highly suggest it if you, too, have a distaste for fungus in your food. ;)

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. salted butter
• 2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 1 (16 oz.) jar Alfredo sauce {Or you could make your own sauce. Try this one out for an easy, healthy, and delicious alternative}
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
• 2 cups frozen broccoli, thawed
• 1/4 tsp. dried basil
• 1 can refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
• 1 Tbsp butter, melted
• 1 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Spray an 8 inch glass baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
3. In a large, nonstick skillet, melt 1 Tbsp. butter over medium heat.
4. Cook the mushrooms and onions until soft. {About five minutes, stirring occasionally.}
5. Stir in the Alfredo sauce, milk, chicken, broccoli, and basil. 
6. Cook until thoroughly heated and bubbly, stirring occasionally.
7. Pour mixture into baking dish.
8. Separate your biscuits and cut each one in half, crosswise.
9. Arrange around the edge of the baking dish, overlapping slightly.
10. Drizzle the melted butter over the biscuits and sprinkle with cheese.
11. Bake 15-20 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown. {Make sure the biscuits are completely cooked before you get to eager to pull them out. We made this mistake the first time we had this and ended up eating doughy biscuits. Bleh.}
12. Serve with veggies or salad and enjoy!

We will definitely be making this again! It felt just easy enough to whip up real quick and served up some great leftovers. Hope you like it!

-Sarah

Linking up here.

Shaklee's Basic H2 Giveaway {Ended}

I have two things to discuss today:

#1 - Be sure to check out my guest post on Chef In Training!

#2 - We have a visitor today on High Heels and Grills! My friend {And cousin. Holla!} Alex is here to offer you one remarkable product. Take it away Alex!

Hey High Heels and Grills readers! I'm Alexandra from Happy, Healthy, & Domestic (formally Crafting With My Cubs). I'm so excited to be here. Thank you Sarah for this opportunity to tell you about my favorite product for around the house cleanup and to give away a sample to one lucky reader!

First, a little about me: I am a wife and mom to two feisty little boys. When I get the time, I love to craft, sew, and cook healthy and yummy meals for my family - especially homemade baby food for my littlest man. 

One of my favorite projects, recently, was a t-shirt quilt I made for a friend's wedding present. So much work, but it was so worth it!

Alright, so let's get to the heart of this post. As much as Zachary and Sarah cook, they have just as much cleaning to do afterwards. So I sent Sarah a sample of my favorite cleaning product, Shaklee's Basic H2. 

Not only is it the best...it is the CHEAPEST and it is the SAFEST!! It is cheaper than vinegar and it is organic!! Oh yeah, and…..it WORKS!!

It is a concentrate so you add your own water. (This helps keep the cost down and uses less bottles.) 1 bottle of Basic H2 equals the cleaning uses of 5,824 (26 oz.) bottles of Windex. Wow, right?!?! I have had the same bottle for 2 years and still have some left!

Basic H2 is all you need for thousands of household jobs, indoors or out: walls, windows and mirrors, countertops, floors, appliances, stoves, sealed woodwork, pots and pans, furniture. etc.

Now one of you lucky readers gets the opportunity to try this amazing non-toxic and organic cleaning concentrate!! Enjoy!

Coming from someone that has used this product, I have to agree with Alex and tell you that it really does work. It's amazing! For your chance to win a free sample of Shaklee's Basic H2, just fill out the Rafflecopter below!

This giveaway will end at 12:01 EST on 11/01/12 and will be announced at 9:00 a.m. EST on 11/02/12.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Work It Wednesday {#6}

Hello and welcome to this week's Work It Wednesday! Can I just say that today has been a day from you know where? There are some changes being made in the way things are going to happen at work and it is not going over well with everyone. There's been a lot of tension over it so far and I've about had as much as I can handle. We're having a staff meeting tomorrow though, so hopefully that will help smooth things over! In the meantime, I'll have to try to keep my foot outta my mouth and remain calm and composed. Good thing I have one heck of a husband that was nice enough to make sure I came home to a clean house and is willing to give me lots and lots of foot rubs. :)

Anyway, enough about me. I want to know what you've been up to this week! I am seriously in awe of the amazing creativity and effort that you guys put into your project and it's so fun for me to look through them! Here were some of my favorites:

 Top Ten Food Rules For Staying Healthy from Crafting With My Cub

Baked Pumpkin Cake {Gluten Free!} from Trick and Treat 

Easy Envelope Bookmarks by Love, Pomegranate House 

Peanut Butter Brownie Pumpkins from Wifessionals 

Halloween Hurricanes from My Heart's Desire

Spicy Cashew Chicken from The Pastry Chef's Baking 

Tea Cup Candle Tutorial from Our Pinteresting Family

 Mummy Cookie Bites from The Recipe Critic

Pineapple and Sticky Rice 

5 Ingredients Pumpking Spice Cupcakes from Shaken Together 

Thank you for all your great ideas, ladies! Be sure to grab yourself a featured button! I'll be pinning all of these things this week, so be sure to keep a look out for them! Now, let's get down to the nitty gritty. Remember the two rules:

#1 - Link up anything and everything {recipes, crafts, projects, tutorials, etc.} that has been made by you. I don't care what it is as long as it isn't a shop, giveaway, advertisement, link party or something of the like.
#2 - Please link back to us in some way, shape, or form. I understand how annoying this can be sometimes, so I've made a lovely super ugly button {I know, I'm working on it. Give me some time.} for you to put on your blog. You can also put a text link at the end of your post or even put our link in your party page. Just please give credit where credit is deserved!

<center> <a href="http://highheelsandgrills.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--mmaYLwHrnA/UGKGjtHCLSI/AAAAAAAABI4/uZLWnI3KBU8/s1600/work+it.jpg" /></a></center> If after doing these 2 things, you decide you want to subscribe to us via E-mail,  follow us on Pinterest, like us on Facebook, or follow us onTwitter, I would definitely not object! Thank you all. With that being said, work it friends and show me what you've got!!

Pumpkin Pecan Crunch

Guys. This may just be the greatest chex mix/trail mix/pumpkin recipe that you will ever taste in your entire existence. The first time I made it, I was hoping it would would be good, but I wasn't expecting it to be that good. Zachary and I scarfed down like it was going outta style! I can't even count the number of times we told ourselves, "We really need to stop eating this, so we can take a picture before it's all gone." It's a new family favorite in our house and I'll be making it for the third time this week to share with my co-workers. Everyone needs to taste this delightful snack!

I actually found this on the back of a box of Chex {go figure} and thought that it sounded easy enough to try that same day. I tweaked it a little bit to what I could find at the grocery store and I wouldn't change a single thing about it.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Honey Nut Chex cereal
• 2 cups Rice Chex cereal
• 2 cups Cinnamon Life cereal
• 1 cup pecans {I used regular salted ones, but I thought later that it might be good to try some cinnamon candied ones!}
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) salted butter, melted
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice {I had no idea they even sold this stuff until I was buying it for this recipe. Ya learn something new every day!}

Directions:

1. In a large, microwavable bowl, mix all three cereals and pecans.
2. Whisk together butter and vanilla and pour over the cereal mixture, evenly coating all of it.
3. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and pumpkin spice until mixed thoroughly.
4. Sprinkle over the cereal mixture until well blended.
5. Microwave uncovered on high for 5 minutes, stirring after every minute.
6. Spread on wax paper and let cool.
7. Eat your heart out.

I love how festive and fall-timey this recipe is! It makes for great gifts too! I actually put some in a little jar and gave it to my friend for her birthday the other day. You're sure to love it just as much as we do! {Zach says that if you don't, you need to find yourself a new set of tastebuds.}

-Sarah

Linking up here.

Steak Fajitas with Chimichurri Sauce

Welcome to another Man Monday!

I had a hard time coming up with what I wanted to do this week. When I have cooker's block (don't question whether or not that is a real phrase - just go with it), I usually end up just looking at a bunch of stuff at foodnetwork.com and hope for inspiration. Behold, the inspiration:

This recipe was adapted from Sunny Anderson's recipe found here. However, Sarah and I don't drink and we rarely cook with alcohol. I know, I know, the alcohol cooks out, I'm not an idiot; however, coming from someone who has never had an opportunity to "acquire" the taste, alcoholic beverages are not pleasant - in any form. Try getting someone from pretty much anywhere else in the world to drink American root beer... the resulting look on their face is classic. Same deal with me and beer. So, I used a little bit of ginger ale instead, and it worked out just fine.

In addition to the alcohol adjustment, you will see some other minor tweaks that I feel made the dish even awesomer (just go with that one too).

Ingredients:

• 1/2 bunch of fresh parsley (unless you want the chimichurri sauce to be overwhelmed with parsley and cilantro, don't use the full bunch like Sunny suggests, trust me)
• 1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1 large red onion
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 lb chuck or top round steak
• 3 poblano peppers (or any of your favorite pepper combinations)
• 1/4 cup beer (or ginger ale :)
• 8, 8 inch tortillas
• lime wedges (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine the parsley, cilantro (stems and all for both these ingredients), garlic, 1/2 of your onion, salt and pepper, vinegar, lemon juice, and olive oil in a food processor and blend thoroughly. Taste it, if you think it needs more parsley and cilantro, have at it.  However, Sarah and I both felt that the full bunches were way too much. Also, add as much salt and pepper as you feel it needs.
2. Poke a bunch of holes into both sides of your steak with a fork. Place your steak into a resealable bag and add half of your chimichurri sauce. Marinate in the fridge for 1 hour. You can add lime juice or lemon juice to the remaining chimichurri sauce to create a dipping concoction for later.
3. After your hour of marinating time, salt and pepper your meat and grill it to your liking. As a general rule, for thin strips of beef, cook for about 1 minute on each side. For thicker steaks, cook for around 6 minutes on each side.
4. Now for the veggies. Slice your peppers and the other half of your onion. Heat your butter on the sauté pan until it just starts to bubble. Add your veggies. Cook for about 8 minutes on medium-high heat, stirring often. Add your beer/ale/beverage-concoction-I-really-don't-care-what-you-use and cover. Cook until the veggies are soft and delicious.
5. Now, simply combine your sliced beef and the remaining ingredients as you desire. Serve with lime and sour cream.

I'll be honest, I don't know who or what a chimichurri is, but this stuff is pretty good! Let's pretend it's a guy, we'll say his name is Javier Chimichurri, who liberated his little Mexican town from the oppressive aliens of Saturn with only a sack of parsley and cilantro, back in 1943. Thanks Mr. Chimichurri, we all owe you a debt of gratitude. I hope this recipe does you proud.

-Zach

Linking up here.

Salted Caramel Peanut Butter Cups

Salted Caramel. Either you love it or you hate it, right? I thought it was the weirdest thing ever when it started getting popular. It took me trying it one time though and I've been hooked ever since! It's definitely one of my favorite fads going on right now.

I found this recipe in a Pilsbury recipe book and I've been dying to try it! Don't worry, it did not disappoint. I'm not even a big peanut butter cookie fan and it still exceeded my expectations!

Ingredients:

Cookies:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1-1/4 cups bread flour {or all-purpose flour}
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Filling:

• 1-1/4 cup caramels, unwrapped
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• 2 tsp. coarse salt

Directions:

1. COOKIES: Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Spray 24 mini muffin cups with cooking spray; set aside.
3. Beat together butter, sugar, and brown sugar until smooth.
4. Add peanut butter and mix just until blended.
5. Add egg and vanilla and mix well.
6. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
7. Gradually add flour mixture to wet mixture, just until blended.
8. Roll out your cookie dough into balls. {The size of each ball will depend on how big you want your cookie cups. I did about 1-inch ones, but next time I will probably do 2-inch ones.}
9. Place one ball into each of the 24 muffin cups.
10. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly golden.
11. After baking, use the end of a wooden spoon and press down the center of each cookie to make an indentation for the caramel.
12. Let cool completely.
13. FILLING: In a medium, microwavable bowl, microwave caramels and water uncovered on high for 1 minute.
14. Stir and continue to microwave in 15-second increments until caramels are melted and can be stirred smooth.
15. Stir in milk.
16. Fill each cookie cup with about 1 tablespoon of melted caramel.
17. Sprinkle with salt and let stand until set.

I want to try it with a chocolate chip cookie dough recipe and not put the chocolate chips in. I think it'd taste fabulous! Enjoy!

-Sarah

Linking up here.

Candy Corn Sugar Cookie Bars

Remember those sugar cookie bars I made a while back? Yeah, me too. Mmm-mm, were they good. Anyway, I was sitting home by myself last weekend since the mister had to work {boo}, and I found myself craving them. Like hard core. I got all the ingredients to make 'em and then it dawned on me - with Halloween just around the corner, they would be super easy to make into a Halloween-friendly treat! Here's what I came up with:

I've been so excited to share these little babies with you all week long! I've learned that people either love candy corn or they hate it. I, for one, don't really have a preference and have learned that it's more dependent on the mood I'm in, but for you candy corn haters that still want to enjoy it during this Halloween season, this is the perfect treat for you! Once again, the best part is: no refrigerating and rolling out your cookie dough. Holla!

Ingredients:

Cookies:

• 1/2 cup salted butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 and 1/2 Tbsp. sour cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 and 1/2 cups bread flour (or all-purpose flour is fine)
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Orange and yellow food coloring

Frosting:

• 4 cups confectioner's sugar
• 1/2 cup salted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup half & half
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract {I used clear vanilla, so the frosting would be more white, but any kind works}
• A pinch of salt

Directions:

1. FOR THE COOKIES: Preheat oven to 375°F and grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add egg and combine well.
4. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until completely blended.
5. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. 
6. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir until well combined.
7. Separate the dough into two equal parts and color one half of the parts orange and the other part yellow.
8. Press the yellow batter into the greased baking dish and spread out to the edges with your hands. {If you butter your hands, this will help with the stickiness. Also, it may seem like it's not going to cover the bottom of the pan, but don't worry, it will.}
9. Spread the orange batter over the yellow batter evenly. {I found it was easier to roll the orange dough out a little with a rolling pin before putting it on the yellow batter.}
10. After it's all spread out and ready to go, bake it for 17-20 minutes, or until edges become lightly golden.
11. Set aside to cool completely.
12. FOR THE FROSTING: In a medium bowl, cream powdered sugar, butter and half and half until light and fluffy.
13. Stir in vanilla and salt and combine well.
14. Frost your cooled cookie bars evenly.
15. Cut into triangles and serve.

After eating way too many of these, because they're just so dang good, I finally had to give the rest of them to the gate guards here on base. Otherwise, I would've eaten every last bit of them! Hope you like 'em and Happy Halloween folks!

-Sarah

Linking up here.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Witch's Brooms

Maybe I'm old-fashioned in thinking that Halloween recipes should be shared near Halloween, but that's just the way we do things here at High Heels and Grills! No worries, this won't be the last one you see for this year either. I'll come right out and tell you that I did not think up this recipe, but the moment I saw it, I knew it was way too cute to pass up!

I found this in a Betty Crocker cookbook that a picked up a while ago and could not get over how clever it was. I've never seen anything like it and I wanted to share it with all of you right away! They'd be so cute for those Halloween parties you'll be throwing!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup peanut butter chips {Can be found next to the chocolate chips in most grocery stores}
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups bread flour {Or all-purpose flour works fine, too}
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 16 thick pretzel rods, broken in half
• 8 large shredded wheat cereal biscuits {and by large, I mean really large}
• 1 (16 oz.) tub chocolate frosting
• 1 (7 oz.) pouch red Cookie Icing

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, microwave the peanut butter chips and butter on high for 30 seconds, then in 15-second intervals until smooth.
2. Stir in brown sugar, vanilla and egg until well combined. 
3. Add flour and baking soda and mix until blended.
4. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 350°F.
6. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to 1/4 inch thickness.
7. Cut with a 2-inch bell-shaped cookie cutter. {Or if you're like me and you don't have a bell-shaped cookie cutter, an upside down heart works great as well!}
8. Place the cutouts on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
9. For each cookie, place a pretzel rod on the top of the bell {or point of the heart}, leaving 2-1/2 inches of pretzel exposed.
10. Bake 5-6 minutes, then let cool completely.
11. Pull cereal biscuits apart until you have some straw-like pieces.
12. Spread a thin layer of chocolate frosting on each cookie and the sprinkle cereal shreds to create brooms. {It works best if you press the shreds into the frosting, so they stick better.}
13. Pipe thin rows of red icing near the top of the 'broom' to look like stitching.
14. Let stand until set.

I think next time I'll drizzle a little bit of white icing or something over them - just to give the cereal some added sweetness. Hope you like them!

-Sarah

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Popcorn Cake

For weeks now, I've been hearing all kinds of awesome things about my co-worker's infamous Popcorn Cake. Lucky for me, she was kind enough to bring some in to share with us last week! One bite and I was instantly hooked. Seriously though. I was searching for reasons to go to the end of the counter, so I could sneak a piece. It's got that salty-sweet flavor that definitely keeps you coming back for more!

This recipe can actually be made in a variety of ways. You can add nuts like it says or you can leave them out completely. You could use candy corn in it, or another kind of candy depending on the holiday. No matter what you do, it's sure to be a hit! Note: This recipe is very addicting, so beware!

Ingredients:

• 2 (4.5 oz) bags of Chester's butter flavored puffcorn {I found it at Wal-Mart and I know it's sold at Target as well.}
• 1 package candy corn {Package size depends on how much or little candy you want. I bought 3 - 11 oz. bags of different flavors and grabbed a handful two out of each bag to make up my one package. You can do it however you like!}
• 2 cups nuts of your choice {I used macadamias. Mmm-mm good.}
• 1 package mini marshmallows
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) salted butter

Directions:

1. In a large bowl {or two large bowls}, mix the puffcorn, candy corn, and nuts evenly; set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt marshmallows and butter until no longer lumpy. {Be sure not to overheat it though, or your resulting cake will be hard.}
3. Pour the marshmallow mixture evenly over the puffcorn mixture and mix quickly. {It will be a sticky mess, but have no fear my friends! Keep pushing on.}
4. Let sit for ten minutes.

This can easily be formed into balls as well, to give away for a cute Halloween gift. Enjoy!

-Sarah

Linking up here.

Work It Wednesday {#5}

The middle of the week is finally here! Now we can sit back, relax, and ride the downhill slope to Friday.

I'm eating some peppermint ice cream tonight as I write up this post and I'm officially in heaven. I wish this stuff was around all year. It's like a little taste of Christmas in my mouth! 

Now that you know what I'm up to, I want to see what all of you are doing! First off, here are some fab features from last week's party!

Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken Sandwiches from Semi Homemade Mom. 

 Wild Rice Soup from Hot Eats and Cool Reads.

Omega-3 Granola from Chocolate and Chillies.

Sexy Vampire Lips from The Art of Beauty. 

 Spooky Ghosts from Violet Imperfection.

 Take 5 Copycat from Sweet Little Bluebird.

Thank you for all your great ideas, ladies! Be sure to grab yourself a featured button! I'll be pinning all of these things this week, so be sure to keep a look out for them! Now, let's get down to the nitty gritty. Remember the two rules:

#1 - Link up anything and everything {recipes, crafts, projects, tutorials, etc.} that has been made by you. I don't care what it is as long as it isn't a shop, giveaway, advertisement, link party or something of the like.
#2 - Please link back to us in some way, shape, or form. I understand how annoying this can be sometimes, so I've made a lovely super ugly button {I know, I'm working on it. Give me some time.} for you to put on your blog. You can also put a text link at the end of your post or even put our link in your party page. Just please give credit where credit is deserved!

<center> <a href="http://highheelsandgrills.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--mmaYLwHrnA/UGKGjtHCLSI/AAAAAAAABI4/uZLWnI3KBU8/s1600/work+it.jpg" /></a></center> If after doing these 2 things, you decide you want to subscribe to us via E-mail,  follow us on Pinterest, like us on Facebook, or follow us onTwitter, I would definitely not object! Thank you all. With that being said, work it friends and show me what you've got!!