So, I saw this pin yesterday, went to the blog, and could not wait to make these little yummies; it was the video that got me. :) Watch and it will catch you too... and mysteriously force you to the kitchen to whip these little devils up.
I followed the recipe exactly, except, (and there is always an "except" when I use a recipe.) I used a little less sugar and dipped only the tops in the sugar and cinnamon. I do not like my sweets too sweet and using less sugar works for me.
I was out of ground cinnamon and had to grate it and the nutmeg with a hand grater - (Explaining the large specks of cinnamon and nutmeg.)
Photos by spbm
And now...the joy of eating these and enjoying a cup latte. What better way to spend a few minutes of your day than this!? Is there a better one?
Earlier today I pleaded with a beautiful butterfly to stay long enough for me to get a decent picture. :)
It's been a busy summer, working in the yard, and getting ready for two of my favorite little people to come for a visit this month.
I made this outstanding and delicious, easy salad from Damn Delicious. It has so many wonderful flavors in it that I love, and is healthy. Can't beat that.
photos by spbm
Note: I doubled the dressing recipe, just because I love the flavors so much. I also replaced half of the sesame oil with toasted sesame oil, and added an additional tablespoon of honey. This is one of those recipes you can easily adjust to your own taste.
Asian Pasta Salad Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 15 minutesTotal time: 25 minutes
Yields 3-4 servings INGREDIENTS:
8 ounces elbows pasta
1 California Avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
1 mango, peeled and diced
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1/4 cup shredded red cabbage
1 green onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons pine nuts
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the dressing:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds
DIRECTIONS:
To make the dressing, whisk together soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and sesame seeds; set aside. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well. In a large bowl, combine pasta,avocado, mango, carrot, cabbage, green onion, pine nut, soy sauce dressing, salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
I love a simple meal that taste delicious. Years ago I made a spinach and artichoke quesadilla that I had duplicated from a favorite restaurant. It's been a long time since I have made them and cannot remember exactly what was in them. Today I was craving one, tried putting together the ingredients the best I could recall. I can't remember exactly what they tasted like, but these did not disappoint. Since I did not want the extra tortilla, mainly because of the carb count for David, I made them open-face, which works great for me too.
I cooked a box of frozen spinach until dry. While it was cooking, I sauteed chopped onion, chopped mushrooms, and garlic in some olive oil, and added a few chopped green onion at almost the end of the cooking time, I did not want them to cook too much. Once the spinach was cooked until almost completely dry, I added the saute mixture, and chopped marinated artichoke hearts and cooked long enough to heat thoroughly. I heated the tortilla in the skillet on both sides, moved them to a baking sheet, topped them with mozzarella cheese, the spinach mixture, topped with a little more mozzarella and baked until the cheese was bubbly and melted. Topped them off with chopped green onion, a little salsa, chopped tomatoes, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. I was wishing I had bought some sour cream, but really didn't need it, it was that good. I'll add sliced or chopped avocados next time.
photo by spbm
photo by spbm
Found a peanut butter granola recipe on Pinterest, sounded good, had to make. It is my new favorite snack. And way too easy to be so darn good. David will love a tablespoon on his yogurt in the mornings. I did add some chopped nuts and unsweetened coconut. Going to try this with other things in the future, but this one will be a favorite. I'm thinking of making some of this and sending to my kids, would make a great healthy snack.
Recently I came across a photo of egg custard on Pinterest. (Imagine that.) :) I have been craving it ever since I saw the photo. As a teenager, I made egg custard all the time, but not so much as an adult, try to not eat so many eggs. My willpower went into melt-down mode tonight and I made it. It is the exact same recipe my grandma made, which made it all the better. It turned out just like I remember, perfect. I'm not sure how many of these will be left by the time the sun comes up, not many, if any. David had a low blood sugar and got to eat a couple. I'll post the link to the blog below where you can find the recipe.
I've been watching the inaugural today, and I have had a hard time keeping the tears back. I feel so proud! But I am a big President Obama Fan!!! And, I think Michele is just the classiest... and a beautiful First Lady. My heart feels good today.
On another note, I've been a little busy lately. I'm ready for spring, though. :) It's drab and cold outside today, so I'm trying to keep the sun shinning in my heart and mind.
I have been working on a visual wall that goes to my basement. I am wallpapering it with pretty visual images from magazines. I thought what the heck, if I don't like it or if it doesn't work I can take it down and paint. Well, I'm loving it! I didn't want to make put extra pressure on myself, so just working on it when I have time and feel like working on it. Now I have to get the ladder to finish the top and move a shelf loaded with books to complete the bottom. I have small wall opposite it that I am thinking of making it a wall of quotes and poetry, (just writing them on with a sharpie). You all know how I love quotes. :)
photo by spbm
photo by spbm
It just makes me feel really good when I look at it. :)
I had mentioned that I wanted to start yoga and meditation. Well, let me tell you about it, I did and I LOVE it. Omg, why did I procrastinate for so long? The first few days, I thought I can't do this, but I've come a long way, baby, with a long way to go. But some of it is starting to feel really good when I do it. I can almost touch my head on my knees. YEAH!!! And I bought a couple of audio books to listen to at night, Deepak Chopra and Dr. Wayne Dyer. I can't tell you how much I love both of them. Also, I used to listen to Yanni a lot, I found him to be so comforting and soothing to listen to, not to mention that I am in love with him. In my next life...he is all mine. LOL
Yanni
Made some mini banana muffins yesterday. Haven't made them in a long time, forgot how good they are. I usually add nuts, didn't have any, they were still delicious.
It's a new week and I do believe I am on the road to recovery. Wow, that bug or whatever it was kicked me in the butt big time. I was feeling better over the weekend, but still very weak and not able to do much. I had the first decent night's sleep last night, waking up only twice. I'm trying to use my mind over body powers. :)
I am so far behind on everything, I need to do some catching up in the house, making some Christmas gifts, and hopefully selling a few things on Etsy for holiday moolah.
My coffee was so good this morning and I do believe this is a good sign. LOL
What have you all been up to??? Christmas decorating and shopping I bet? I do hope everyone is feeling great and will have a blessed start to a new and fresh week. Let's expect some good things!
My daughter send me a photo on Saturday of an Apple Tart and Eggplant dish she had made, they looked delicious. I was really wishing she was not a 24 hour drive away, I would have been there for dinner. She is a fabulous cook, a brave soul in the kitchen. I am very proud of her desire to want to make delicious and healthy meals for her family. So wanted to share some delicious sights with you. Enjoy.
I still have to find the link from Jaime for this dish. She made homemade ricotta cheese for this dish. Honestly, I could eat the whole thing. It looks fabulously delicious.
I just made the best darn soup of my life! Seriously! And that... is saying a lot, I am a darn good soup maker. I had a bowl of mushroom soup at a castle in Germany one time that would make you get on your knees and beg for more. I always wanted to try to duplicate it, always afraid I would ruin my memories of having had the best ever. Mushrooms were on sale the other day and I for some reason had this thought that I would be cooking with mushrooms every day for the next month. I needed to use the two boxes I had left in the fridge, so this morning I starting pulling things out of the fridge to test my talents and memory. The difference in my soup, I added potatoes to make a larger pot. Since I never measure a thing when it comes to soup, I will never be able to duplicate this. It's all a pinch of this and a handful of that...I added about a 1/4 cup of cream that I had from another recipe and it needed to be used. I don't usually allow my taste buds the luxury of cream in soups. Let me tell you, I do not eat very much but...I could have eaten the entire pot of this stuff. I think I will go to bed dreaming of eating another bowl of this. The only thing that would have added to this was a freshly baked roll. With all the cooking I have to do in the next two days, I wasn't up to making bread today. Over the holidays, it will be happening.
If you would like to try this, here are the ingredients I used:
vegetable stock (1 box)
sauteed onions, celery, and garlic cloves (I used one onion, 4 stalks celery, and five garlic cloves in olive oil)
1 whole box of sliced mushrooms (sauteed in olive oil)
3 bay leaves, oregano, pinch of sage, thyme, rosemary, and parsley (I used fresh because I have them, if you use dried, use a little more sparingly than you do fresh.
4 large potatoes, diced
a little vegetable bullion
I added all the sauteed ingredients and everything else, cooked until potatoes were done.
At the end of cooking, I added about 1/4 cup of cream (because I had some that needed used. Yeah! You could use regular milk, which I usually do, but sometimes...you just have to live a little.)
I topped with freshly grated Parmesan and bacon bits.
I'm telling you, I embarrassed myself eating this stuff!
My daughter told me about this recipe - it is delicious!!! Nothing could be easier, and it may now be my every Sunday dinner meal. It frees up my Sunday evening, allowing me to do other things besides hang out in the kitchen. I put this in the crock-pot around noon, done by six. I served it over brown rice, topped it with some plain yogurt (because I had it and didn't have to buy sour cream). I prefer sour cream, and wish I had made some guacamole to go with this. Even slices of avocado would be delicious. I followed the recipe exactly, except, I had some fresh sage growing and chopped up a leaf of that, and I used fresh garlic instead of garlic powder. I do think next time, I may even chop up a little onion and put in there, just because I love onions.
These easy to prepare biscuits would be perfect for weekend breakfast or brunch.
Just happened upon this blog this morning - what a treat. Beautiful photography and some great recipes. After viewing this post, I want to go straight to the kitchen and make some of these. Go here to get some fantastic ideas.
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I made these delicious Marmalade Muffins today. Delicious! They are perfect sweetness, not too sweet, just right. I found this recipe on a blog that I can not find.:( When I do find it, I will credit the blog for the recipe.
YEAH!!! I found the blog where I found this wonderful recipe: poppytalk. You can find them here.
Photo by SPBM
Orange Marmalade Muffins
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 egg
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup marmalade or jam
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Whisk together the flours, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl.
In a large bowl, combine the milk, oil, vanilla, egg and honey together, making sure to fully incorporate all the ingredients. Slowly add in the dry ingredients and slowly mix until just combined. Dump in the marmalade and walnuts (if using) and slowly fold into the batter, making sure to leave the marmalade streaky.
Pour into muffin cups and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Over this past week I cooked a chicken recipe I had eyed on What's Cookin' Chicago? Blog. The Apple-Maple Glazed Chicken is delicious and I have made this twice in the past week. I used chicken tenders because it is what I had and it turned out fantastic. This is easy and doesn't take many ingredients, and is so tasty. Last night, I made a sandwich on fresh homemade wheat bread, some fresh spinach, sliced red onion, with some sweet and spicy dressing that I made with a little of the glaze from the chicken and mayo and a pinch of grainy mustard - it was delicious!
It was a good day; after finding a recipe on Sweet Paul’s Blog, I knew I had to make it…and I did. It was so delicious that I will be making it again tomorrow night. I followed the way EASY directions exactly, except…I added a couple of things I needed to use up and some of my fresh herbs, which are in abundance right now - thyme, oregano, rosemary, and at the end of cooking time, some basil dipped in olive oil. Added a couple of chopped green onions and sun dried tomatoes, a few black olives…this was so simple…and too DELICIOUS to be so simple. The puff pastry is now my new favorite pizza crust, tender and flaky. This tasted much more like the European Pizza I used to eat in Germany, no tomato sauce. I love recipes like this, you can use what you have, add extras that you like.
It's strawberry season and I am taking advantage of putting some in the freezer and making strawberry jam. I put about 45 bags in the freezer yesterday, love using them in smoothies and other recipes. I'll be putting more in the freezer this week. I decided to also make a small batch of strawberry freezer jam (I like freezer jam and jellies much better than cooked; it has a fresher taste, in my opinion.) This morning I made some Coffeehouse Scones to go with my fresh strawberry jam - and my goodness, what a great treat for a Saturday morning.
Coffeehouse Scones:
2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (113 grams) (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces
2/3 - 3/4 cup (160 - 180 ml) buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and place rack in middle of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Add the buttermilk and vanilla extract to the flour mixture and stir just until the dough comes together. Do not over mix.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently and form into a round that is about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. Use a 2 1/2 inch (6.5 cm) round biscuit cutter to cut the dough into circles. Transfer the scones to the baking sheet and brush the tops of the scones with a little milk.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
A few days ago, I found this wonderful blog: Desserts for Breakfast and made this delicious Lemon Bar with Ginger Shortbread today. OMG, it was so delicious - the ginger gave this traditional lemon bar a wonderful zing. My photos do not compare to hers, but here are my attempts at photographing a little of the process. I find it difficult to photograph food and make it look as good as the real thing. You can click on the link and find the recipe (and her wonderful blog).
Finished Product - Yum Yum Yum, was so good with a cup of coffee. Oh yes, the shortbread is the most amazing I have ever made or tasted.
I am in the mood to bake something - found this recipe on Country Living - this Crepe Cake looks different than any cake I have ever made. My love for crepes allows me to tend toward thinking I might really like this. And isn't it pretty!?!
My latest Clematis blooms - they are quite amazing this year. I have been doing a lot of work outside the past week and haven't had time to blog much. I hope everyone is having a wonderful week.
