Shabby Apple Dresses

For anyone that loves to dress in a classy and incredibly stylish way this is the giveaway for you. Shabby Apple is giving to one lucky winner 1 years worth of dresses. That's one dress for every month of the year starting this month. Think of it? 12 dresses from Shabby Apple? Uh, YES please!!!! :-) So, head over to the Shabby Apple blog and enter. I insist.

March 17th....

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! Here's an Irish blessing for ya'll.....

May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!

In case anyone has been wondering, yes, I was taking a break from blogging for a few weeks. Working out a new day to day routine with baby Meghan, trying to catch up on sleep and coming down with a cold has left me little time to blog and since sleep is more important right now....:-)

I'll be back soon and hopefully with lots of interesting things to share.

It's a Girl!!!!!

Baby arrived yesterday.....

Meghan Wardle
February 18th,
8lb. 2oz.  20 1/2" Long.

 

Such a precious little bundle and its absolutely adorable to watch big brother, Roy give her kisses on the cheek. Awwwww.......:-)

Honey Peanut Butter Truffles

I made these the other day for Jay and they were a big success in the excellent feedback department. I came up with the recipe partly from memory of how our family used to make them and also from one I found online and had printed out a long time ago. (Hence the reason I don't have a link to it.)

Yummy-ness defined.

Honey Peanut Butter Coconut Truffles
1 cup Peanut Butter
1 cup Sweetened Flaked Coconut (or unsweetened. Just add a little more honey.)
1/2 cup Honey
1/3 cup dry milk powder (make sure it really is powder and put it through a sieve if you need to.)
2 cups Chocolate chips or equivalent of chocolate for dipping. Good chocolate is a must!
1-2 TB. Shortening

Mix peanut butter, coconut, and honey together. Stir in dry milk powder, mixture should be stiff enough to roll into small 1 inch balls. Place on a wax paper covered cookie sheet and put in freezer for about 1 hour. Melt chocolate chips and shortening in double boiler or in bowl placed over a pot of boiling water. (Careful not to get steam burned.) Using a toothpick or other preferred method, dip frozen truffles into chocolate and coat all sides. Place back onto waxed paper. Immediately top each with Coconut flakes or other desired garnish before chocolate hardens. Return to freezer for another hour or so. Wrapped well  (to prevent freezer burn.), these will last in the freezer for months. (Unless you eat them all within a few days. Like we did.:-)
Enjoy with a cup of tea, coffee or a tall cold glass of milk!

Giveaway at Simply Nurtured....

Here is a fun giveaway for anyone that is a mother, wants to be a mother or knows a mother. :-D It would make a perfect baby shower gift too! Head on over and enter if you'd like and check out the rest of the blog.

Cinnamon Rolls

Okay, I admit I have been posting a lot of recipes lately but I just can't seem to help myself. They all taste so good and this one tastes really, really good. Like "knock your socks off, eat the whole pan" kind of good. :-D

I've been craving Cinnamon Rolls for weeks but didn't ever seem to have the time to make them and finally I did and so I did. Here is my recipe adapted from The Pioneer Womans version to make it healthier and better for me since I really shouldn't eat lots of sugar right now being in the last weeks of pregnancy and all.

Cinnamon Rolls
Prep time: 2 hours
Cook time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: Alot

Ingredients:
1 quart whole milk
1 cup olive oil
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 packages active Dry yeast
3 c. Whole Wheat Flour
5 c. All-purpose White Flour (plus 1 cup extra, separated.)
1 t. (heaping) baking Powder
1 t. (scant) baking soda
1 TB. (heaping) salt
Plenty of melted butter
2 cups brown sugar
Lots of ground cinnamon to sprinkle.

For the Icing
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. melted butter
1/4 c. brewed coffee
1/8 t. salt
Enough powdered sugar to reach desired consistency.


Preparation instructions:
For the dough, heat the milk, olive oil, sugar and honey in a medium saucepan over medium heat to hot, don't let it boil. Set aside and cool to warm. Sprinkle yeast on top and let sit on the milk for a few minutes.
In a very large bowl, put the 3c. WW Flour and 5 c. White flour. Add yeast mixture and stir until just combined, then cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour +. After 1 hour, remove the towel and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt and the remaining 1 c. flour. Stir thoroughly to combine. Use the dough right away, or place in a large bowl and refrigerate for up to 3 days. (Note: Dough is easier to work with if its been chilled at least an hour or so beforehand.)
To assemble the rolls, remove half the dough from the pan/bowl. On a floured baking surface, roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 30 x 10 inches. The dough should be rolled very thin.
To make the filling, pour 3/4 to 1 cup of the melted butter over the surface of the dough. Use your fingers to spread the butter evenly. Generously sprinkle cinnamon and 1 cup of the brown sugar over the butter.
Now, beginning at the end farthest from you, roll the rectangle tightly towards you. Use both hands and work slowly, being careful to keep the roll tight. The filling might ooze out but that's perfectly fine. When you reach the end, pinch the seam together and flip the roll so that the roll is face down. You'll have one very long cinnamon roll log. With a sharp knife, make 1 inch slices. Pour a couple tablespoons of melted butter into the bottom of disposable cake pans and swirl to coat. Place the sliced rolls in the pans, being careful not to overcrowd.
Repeat the rolling/buttering/sugaring process with the other half of the dough and more pans.
Preheat the oven to 375'F.
Cover all the pans with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for at least 20 minutes before baking. Remove the plastic wrap and bake for 18 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Don't let the rolls become overly brown.
While the rolls are baking, make the icing; In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, butter, coffee, salt and powdered sugar. Whisk until very smooth. Taste and add in more sugar, butter or coffee as needed until icing reaches desired consistency. The icing should be somewhat thick but still very pourable.
Remove pans from the oven. Immediately drizzle icing over the top. Be sure to cover the top thoroughly. As they sit the rolls will absorb some of the icings moisture and flavor.
Tip: Since this recipe makes a lot of cinnamon rolls, I placed some in disposable cake pans, covered in plastic wrap in the freezer to pull out, thaw and bake later. Just make sure to cover the rolls thoroughly so they don't freezer burn.

Enjoy!

Brain malfunctioning....

...or absent mindedness or whatever its called is funny but sometimes embarrassing. At least when there is someone else around to observe said malfunction.

Picture this, a drive up coffee house, namely Dutch Bros. where my husband and I frequent frequently (:-D), I'm on a coffee run for Jay and my brother since they are working and I'm running errands and so I'm getting them coffee since I'm such a nice wife and sister. :-D Anyways, I pull into the drive-thru lane behind a little car to wait my turn and trying to be extra efficient I decide to double check my shopping list while waiting (The little car was taking a long time......). So, I'm carefully checking it and going over in my head what each item on the list is for when I look up and see the Barista's both peeking out the window at me grinning and the little car is nowhere in sight! Yup, it was not only done but it wasn't even in the parking lot anymore! *facepalm* How long I'd been studying my list I'm not entirely sure but it was long enough for the baristas to get a good laugh and me to feel silly. They said they were wondering when I was going to notice it was my turn......Oh well! At least there wasn't anyone in line after me and I have to admit it was pretty funny, embarrassing but funny! :-)

Today I did start to wonder though if whoever it is that says "for every child you have you lose 10% of your brain capacity" isn't entirely off base when I tried to put the carton of 5 dozen eggs in the garbage can and the egg shells into the fridge. :-/

Well, life is never dull that's for sure!

Cheerio!

Tea and Toast, anyone?

So, our oven element decided to have a k-nips (sp?) and go out on Sunday. I had turned it on to pre-heat prior to putting in potatoes for baked potatoes for dinner and Jay and I were sitting in the livingroom when we heard a loud pop from the kitchen. Going in to investigate we discovered the bottom element in the oven had a huge glowing bright orange spot in it and it was hissing and crackling.....so, no baked potatoes for dinner and no baking, so, no making bread and we had just finished the last loaf that morning....hmmmm.....

Anyways, I've made English Muffins quite a few times (just not in the last 3-4 years) and decided they would be a good substitute for loaves of bread until the oven is fixed ("come on landlord".......*tapping foot* :-D).

They turned out just as hoped and were quite a hit with Jay and the wee little man. I shall enjoy some lightly toasted and spread with honey with a cup of tea at 4 o'clock I imagine. :-)

Whole Wheat English Muffins

Prep time: 2 hours
Cook time: 10-15 minutes
Servings: 24-30

Ingredients:
- 1/4 c. boiling hot water
- 1/4 c. cold water
- 1 TB. active dry yeast
- 4 c. Whole Wheat Flour, plus more as needed.
- 2 c. White Flour
- 1 t. salt
- 2 c. Milk
- 6 TB. Oil
- 2 TB. Honey
- 2 Eggs

Directions:
-Mix hot and cold water and sprinkle yeast on it. Let stand for 10-15 minutes.
-In a large bowl, mix flours and salt.
-In another bowl, mix milk, oil and honey. Add egg and stir until well blended. Stir in yeast mixture.
-Add liquid to about half of the dry ingredients and mix well, with a stand mixer or wooden spoon. Mix in remaining dry ingredients. Dough will be soft and somewhat sticky.
-Turn dough out on a liberally floured work surface and knead for several minutes, sprinkling flour on it if needed to make it workable.
-Put dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. Rising time will depend on temperature but allow about an hour.
-Turn risen dough out onto a work surface that has been liberally dusted with flour or cornmeal and pat or roll to about 1/2" thick. Cut into approximately 3 inch rounds with a cookie cutter, tin can or jar lid. If you wish, combine the scraps of dough into more muffins, handling as little as possible. Cover the muffins with a towel and let rise for 25-30 minutes.
-Heat a cast iron griddle or large skillet over medium-low heat. Using a spatula, carefully transfer muffins to hot griddle, cooking about 5 minutes. Turn the muffins gently so as not to deflate them too much. Outsides should be golden brown and crusty, insides should be soft but not gooey. Sacrifice a muffin or two to check for done-ness.
-Remove to cooling rack as they finish cooking. Cook the rest in batches.

Tip: English muffins are traditionally split open with a fork, rather than cut, and then toasted, but they will be good however you do it.

Variations of this recipe:
Add cinnamon, raisins and a little extra honey. Toasted and then buttered they make a great breakfast meal.

Chocolate chips- I've tried it and if I remember right, they were quite tasty. :-)

Another idea for this recipe: Mini Pizza's

Whole Wheat English Muffins Recipe adapted from this one.


Enjoy!

Breakfast Recipe

Another neat recipe I recently found online and tried out. Usually when I find a recipe I print it out and then it sits in my recipe "basket" until I eventually decide to make it or never gets made at all. Oops! I really should try them out right away so if they aren't any good I can pitch them and not store them but oh well......

Anyways....Here it is...Rocky Mountain Pancake.

My attempt. Hmm...it looks different from the recipe picture....

I drizzled honey over ours and it was very tasty but sometime I want to try it with jam or syrup.

Recipe Review

I tried a completely new-to-me recipe the other day and I must say it turned out quite tasty. But then again, it did come from the Pioneer Woman's recipe box so I wasn't surprised.

It happened when Jay requested dessert for after dinner and a quick search came up with these - Creamy Lemon Crumb Squares.

Yummy goodness!

Blessedness.....

The end result. :-)

When the kitchen is messy, one is incredibly tired and definitely isn't feeling like cleaning said kitchen or even thinking about cooking dinner and the husband just quietly steps in and makes dinner.....well, lets just say that I am one very lucky lady!!! But get this, not only did he make waffles from scratch and cook them, he also cooked down strawberries into a wonderful jam to spread on them. A-m-a-z-i-n-g.
I love my man!
Nuff' said. :-)

Checklist

-Clean bathroom- Check
-Organize kitchen cupboards- Check
-Take down and pack away Christmas Decorations- Check
-Move furniture back to living-room- Check
-Vacuum all carpet- Check
-Run two loads of laundry- Check
-Bathe Roy- Check
-Update blog-Check :-)

Now to crash on the couch with a cup of coffee and a Country Women magazine.

Life is good!

Outside my front window.....

...is this Hawthorne tree with little red berries. Don't they look pretty against the snow?

When we got a rapid accumulation of snow the other night, I was thrilled! It doesn't seem like winter when all you've had is freezing temperatures and NO SNOW!!! I was hoping for a white Christmas but alas, it was not to be. Ah well, at least we made up for it this month, I mean, 8 inches?!?! Yippee!!! :-)  Now to bundle up the Little Man and go make a snowman before it all melts....:-)

Christmas Gifts 2011

Here are the pictures as promised of all the Christmas goodies. Photo credit goes to T.W for kindly taking all the pictures since I'd forgotten and frantically called asking her to help me out. :-) Thanks sis!

White Chocolate Lemon Cream Cheese Truffles

These were so much fun to make and of course I made extras of everything to sample. Its not a good idea to make something to give when it might not turn out or something, right?. ;-)

Milk Chocolate Brownie Truffles

 Simple to make but very time consuming with all the freezing and such to make the chocolate workable. I want to try a version with caramel in the center sometime.

At left is the Lemon Curd, Then the Pumpkin Cranberry Bread and last is the Apple Butter.

Oh, writing up this post is making me hungry!!!

Oops, I hear Little Man waking up from his nap. I'll "talk" to ya'll again soon!

2011, Christmas Baking, Odds and ends, 2012, Baby......

As I sit here waiting for my cup of tea to brew (its got to be brewed for a good 5 minutes or it isn't tea. ;-) I'm thinking back on the past few weeks, indeed, actually the past months or the latter half of 2011. It was a great year in so many ways, definitely a year of growing (and not just because I'm pregnant, hah!:-D). I've always felt very close to Jay, he is such an awesome man and I love him very much but as we passed the 2 years married mark it obviously got me to thinking about things, being married and how different life is from even when we first married. I thought that when we married that we were really close, not that we couldn't grow closer but just that we were way ahead on being a newly married couple in that I trusted, adored, loved.....(you get the idea;-) him very much. But, all that said, I still realize how much closer we've actually grown together and if its possible, love each other more than that day over 2 years ago. LIFE IS GOOD!!!!

Oops...tea's brewed and the mail just arrived....be right back.........

Okay, where was I...? Oh, right! Getting really sappy....alright, I think ya'll know what I mean, at least those of you that are married will understand what I'm trying to say, hopefully its not so jumbled that you can't make head or tail of what I mean. :-)

Ahhh....there is nothing like a hot cup of tea with shortbread cookies....(except maybe a nice cup of coffee with a dollop of ice cream on top where the coffee is super hot and the ice cream is really cold and slowly melts into the coffee.....;-D)

This year (or actually, it was last year....;-) I decided to do homemade baking for Christmas gifts for family and try to make it fun and easy but really good.....good tasting I mean! :-) It sorta worked, it worked in that I got the fun and good tasting part down but easy was not, well, not so easy. ;-) Being almost eight months pregnant and staying up 'till 2:00 in the morning making apple butter was lots of fun but I did sort've crash the next day. Crash in that I had to drink four cups of strong coffee to stay awake because it was Christmas and I didn't want to miss anything. Silly reason I know but still. I loved making all the different goodies though and I would never have been able to do it without the awesome help from a super sister.....hats off to T.W.!!!!!!! She not only made several batches of Pumpkin Cranberry bread but also did the family recipe for Shortbread and gave loads of advice and encouragement as I fretted and worried over this or that. Thanks T.W! 
I do think that if I do it again I will plan much better, do things that can be done ahead of time much sooner...(like canned apple butter.....;-) and make sure I don't worry too much over what so and so might think about such and such. :-D Oh, and T.W very kindly took pictures for me to show you the end result of all that fun and yummy work which I will show in the next post since this one is getting very long.

I haven't made any New Years Resolutions really.....I did decide to get outdoors more but that's not too hard for me anyways so I don't think I'll count it as a resolution. Other things coming up in 2012 are baby of course! This pregnancy it seems like the months have gone by much quicker and that might be because we've not only been really busy but I've also felt better. Baby should arrive sometime next month, probably later rather than sooner and we'll see just which side of the collective cousins wins out....boys or girls. ;-) I do have an inkling as to what it might be but I'm not saying since I'm not sure enough and I will be really thrilled with either. :-)

Well, I think this post is long enough ;-) and so I shall say good evening and I'll be posting other random things very soon.