DIY Wedding Ornament

Are you attending a wedding this summer and looking for a unique and fun gift?  When I pinned this idea last year, it was one I wish I'd thought of!!  There's lots of  ideas out there, where I say Why didn't I think of that??!!!

I wish I had taken better pictures while assembling this but I didn't.  Here's my finished ornament and a link to the original post.

Such a unique idea, you could also do this with graduation announcements, baby shower invitations or announcements!!  Cute and it's easy to do!!

Brown Butter Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Bars

I am not a fan of Rice Krispie Bars, at least not the original, they're just too sweet for my taste.  There's no shortage of Rice Krispie bar recipes that are variation of the original.  I've tried several, these using everyone's favorite biscoff, these using red hots or these from cake batter. 

When I'm in the mood to bake, I check the pantry for that ingredient I bought and didn't use.  This time, it was a bag of caramels.  Not sure why I bought them but unwrapping each one sure is a pain!  How about Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Bars?  Just so happens there was a partial box of rice krispies in the pantry.  I found a recipe I liked and decided to step it up a notch and brown the butter.  Caramel, brown butter and sea salt make an amazing combination of flavors.  The nuttiness of the brown butter, sweetness of the caramel combined with the salt make for an oh so good treat!  Fortunately, I was taking these to a party or I could have eaten the whole pan. 

 Brown Butter Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Bars

Recipe Adapted from Redbook

Caramel:

• 1 bag(s) (14-ounce) caramels (about 50), unwrapped
• 1 can(s) (14-ounce) sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup(s) unsalted butter

Squares:

• 1/4 cup(s) unsalted butter, browned
• 1 bag(s) (10 1/2-ounce) miniature marshmallows
• 1 1/2 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
• 3 teaspoon(s) sea salt flakes (such as Maldon)
• 8 cup(s) toasted rice cereal (like Rice Krispies)

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Directions

1. Prepare caramel: Stir ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat.
2. Line a 13x9-inch baking pan with nonstick foil, extending foil 2 inches beyond the edges.
3. In a 6-quart pot, brown the butter.  (You could easily skip this and just melt the butter.)
4.  Add marshmallows and stir with a rubber spatula until almost melted.
5. Stir in vanilla, 1 tsp of the sea salt, and 1 cup of the caramel mixture. Continue to stir until mixture is blended and smooth.
6. Remove from heat. Stir in cereal until it’s evenly coated with the marshmallow mixture.
7. Press mixture into pan in an even layer and cool completely.
8. Spread the remaining 1 cup of the caramel mixture over cooled cereal. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tsp of the sea salt.
9. Remove from pan and peel off foil. Cut into 24 squares. Store in an airtight container.

Roasted Onions and Radishes

Have you ever roasted radishes?  As with most vegetables, roasting brings out their sweetness.   It's CSA time and we had radishes from our own garden.  I wanted to do something else besides just serve them on salads.  These were sweet with just a little bit of crunch and a nice tang from the balsamic.

 Roasted Radishes and Onions

• 3-4 bunches of radishes- trimmed, topped and tailed (about 20 radishes depending on the size, allow 2-3 per person)
• 4-6 onions (I used large green onions) peeled, cut onion into 4 or 6 wedges (like a wedge of lemon)
• 1/4 cup olive oil (approx.) to sprinkle over
• salt to sprinkle (Kosher, Madon)
• Drizzle of balsamic vinegar glaze

---

Method

Toss the radishes and onion wedges in olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast in a hot oven (400) for approximately 35-40 minutes, stirring a couple of times until the onions are crispy and the radishes fairly tender when tested with a sharp knife tip.
Sprinkle over the balsamic vinegar.   Serve as a side dish or as a vegetable dish along side roast meat.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes - SRC

In search of something to make for a co workers birthday, I began browsing, Hun What's for Dinner,   my assigned SRC blog for the month of June.  What's SRC you ask?  Secret Recipe Club is a fun monthly cooking group.  You can learn more about it here.

Cindy of Hun What's for Dinner says she married a chef dreaming of 5 star dinners.  Only to become an accomplish cook and baker herself.  She's won several awards and cooking competitions. Her blog had so many great recipes to choose from.  I've bookmarked several, including this yummy recipe for Bananas Foster French Toast.    I was intrigued by the recipe for Pink Lemonade Cupcakes.  Who doesn't love pink lemonade?  Seems likely it would help make a delicious, moist cupcake.   The frosting was my favorite part of this recipe, it's tart and delicious. These would be fun cupcakes for a little girl's birthday party. 

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

1 box Funfetti Cake mix
3 eggs
1/4 C oil
1 C pink lemonade concentrate
1/3 C butter
5-6 C powdered sugar
3 Tbs pink lemonade concentrate
rainbow sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners and set aside. In a bowl mix together the cake mix, eggs, oil, and 1 C of pink lemonade concentrate. Mix until well combined; then beat for 2 minutes. Fill each paper cup 2/3 full and bake for 12-15 minutes; until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes, before removing to a wire rack. Cool to room temperature. In your mixers bowl, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter until light and fluffy. On the lowest setting, slowly add the powdered sugar, 1 C at a time, beating well after each addition. Once all powdered sugar has been added, increase to highest speed and slowly add in 3 Tbs of pink lemonade concentrate. Beat until very fluffy; about 5 minutes. Place a pipping bag, or large zip top bag, into a deep glass; folding over the top edge. Fill the bag with the frosting. Snip a fairly large hole in the tip of the bag. Using a circular motion, pipe the frosting on top of each cupcake. Sprinkle with rainbow sprinkles immediately.

An InLinkz Link-up

Compost Cookies

I am always a little behind when it comes to trying those recipes everyone is talking about.  Like these cake pops, I know I was a couple of years late for that bandwagon!   The Compost Cookie trend began a few years ago with Momofuku Milk Bar Cookies, from NYC.  Having saved the  bottom of the bag from pretzels and tortilla strips,  I started my search for a recipe. 

I love the ingredients in these cookies, including the coffee grounds .... just like compost!!!  In addition to the pretzel and tortilla strip crumbs,  I used butterscotch, peanut butter and chocolate chips.  As with most sweet recipes, I tried one and sent the rest with Tim for his office.  These cookies are the ultimate combination of a sweet and salty treat!!!!

Compost Cookies
Adapted from Erica's Sweet Tooth

1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tbsp corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1-1/2 cups baking ingredients (chocolate chips, coconut, toffee bits, etc.)
1-1/2 cups snack foods (chips, pretzels, etc.)
1 tbsp coffee grounds
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter, sugars, and corn syrup on medium-high until fluffy and pale yellow in color, about 2-3 minutes.
- On a lower speed, add eggs one at a time and vanilla until well incorporated
- Increase mixing speed to high and let it go for 10 minutes — the mixture will become really pale and will almost double in size
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt
- When 10 minutes are up, add flour mixture slowly until just combined, about 45-60 seconds
- Chop up and mix together all of your baking and snack ingredients in a small bowl, and fold into batter with a spatula until just incorporated
- Using a medium-sized ice cream scoop, portion cookie dough on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and wrap the entire thing tightly with plastic wrap
- Refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour and up to 1 week
- Heat oven to 400F and arrange cookies on cookie sheets at least 4″ apart
- Bake 9-11 minutes, until they are golden in color and slightly brown along the edges
- Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pan (or just eat them immediately…)
Recipe yields 15 large cookies

Cinnamon Swirl Banana Chocolate Bread

 I love banana bread...banana bread with chocolate chips ... even better!  The only problem is at my house we rarely have leftover bananas.  When we do, I can't wait to try one of the many banana recipes I have pinned on Pinterest. 

 The chocolate chips, cinnamon and bananas in this recipe make for a delicious combination of flavors.  The next time you have leftover bananas, I encourage you to give this one a try.

 Cinnamon Swirl Banana Chocolate Bread
Recipe courtesy of Wives With Knives

• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1-1/2 cups)
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• dash of salt
• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, optional
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9" X 5" loaf pan. I buttered my pan and lined it with parchment paper. The paper sticks to the butter. This is a very tender bread and the paper helps getting it out of the pan.
2. Mix bananas, butter, sugar, egg and vanilla together. Sprinkle baking soda and salt on top of the banana mixture, then gently stir in the flour. Add chocolate chips and mix until just blended. Be careful not to over mix.
3. In a small dish mix together the 1/3 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon.
4. Add 1/2 of the batter to the loaf pan and then sprinkle half, or a little more than half of the sugar-cinnamon mixture all over the batter in the pan. Add the rest of the batter, and then sprinkle the leftover cinnamon-sugar mixture over the top. If desired, place banana slices along the edge of the loaf pan.
5. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. If you are using a different loaf pan size be careful to watch it carefully so it isn't over baked.

Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie Cups

It's been way too long since I cooked for a toddler.  I can't remember what I made for dinner when my now almost 35 year old son Justin was small.  Tim's grandson, Paxton,  stays with us at least one night a week.  He loves all things noodles and chicken.  Determined to find some new toddler friendly main dishes, I turned to what else? Pinterest and created a board,  Foods for Paxton. 

Paxon, like all kids, loves cupcakes. These Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie Cups is a fun main dish that looks like a cupcake, yet contains the veggies kids need.  Tim and I like them, too and they made great leftovers for our lunches!

Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie Cups
Recipe courtesy of Call Me Mrs. Rapp

Yields 8-16 pot pie cups (depending on if you split the biscuits in half)


Ingredients:
*8-count biscuits (I used Homestyle)

*1 cup cooked chicken breast, diced

*1 (10 1/2 ounce) can  cream of chicken soup

*2/3 cup shredded  cheddar cheese

*1 1/2 c. frozen veggies, thawed (I used mixed vegetables)

*1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

*1 teaspoon of minced onion
*1/4 teaspoon black pepper
*1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation:
*Preheat oven to 400 degrees.   

*Separate biscuits and place each biscuit in a cup of a lightly greased 12-hole muffin pan, pressing dough up sides to edge of cup.

*In a medium bowl, combine chicken, chicken soup, veggies, cheddar cheese, parsley flakes, and black pepper. Mix well to combine.

*Evenly spoon chicken mixture into prepared biscuit cups.

*Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

*Remove from oven. Place muffin pan on a wire rack and let set for 2-3 minutes. Serve at once.

Gooey Brown Butter Toffee Bars - SRC

What time is it?  It's Secret Recipe time!  I love reveal day, it's so fun to see who had my blog and what recipe they chose.  Interested in participating, you can find the details here!

This month I was assigned Smells Like Brownies!  Melissa is a stay at home mom of a toddler.  A self proclaimed picky eater who has a deliciously unique cooking style.  Although the title of her blog is Smells Like Brownies, there aren't as many dessert recipes as you might think. 

Since her title was all about brownies, who could resist?  I certainly could not and chose a brownie recipe.  I love all things brown butter and add gooey, now that's an extra love!

If you haven't browned butter before, here's some quick instructions.  The key is butter goes from nice nutty brown to burned really quickly, don't walk away.  I followed the recipe exactly, with one exception, I used all light brown sugar.

These brownies will be going to work with Tim tomorrow.  As the saying goes, you can't eat just one.  The combination of the nuttiness of the brown butter and the sweetness of the toffee chips makes a delicious chewy, gooey brownie!

Banana Zucchini Crumble Cake

  As we approach CSA basket time, I am trying to clean up everything I froze last summer.  We had lots of zucchini, which we all know makes great bread.  I wanted something just a little different than traditional zucchini bread.  With a couple of overripe bananas on the counter, I wondered about zucchini and banana bread.  With a search, I found this recipe.  Since frozen zucchini is pretty wet, I was concerned about this bread baking evenly.  Why not make a cake instead of a bread?  I am so glad I did, this was a moist and delicious cake. 

 

 

 Banana Zucchini Crumble Cake

Adapted from Cheese Curd in Paradise

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 bananas, mashed

1 cup grated zucchini

3/4 cup white sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon butter

Instructions

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x9 square pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, zucchini, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana/zucchini mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan.

In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles a coarse crumble. Sprinkle topping over bread.

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until an inserted toothpick come out clean. Allow cake to cool before serving!

Strawberry Oatmeal Pancakes - SRC

 What does the second Monday of the month mean in the blogging world?  It's the day the members of Secret Recipe Club's group B reveal their assigned blogger.   This month, I was introduced to Jen of Jen's Journey.  Jen's been blogging since 2007, WOW!  She's a mom of two teenagers and is married to her high school sweetheart.  Be sure to take a minute and check out the variety of recipes on her blog.

I don't post breakfast recipes very often.  Jen's recipe for Strawberry Oatmeal Pancakes caught my eye and made for a delicious Sunday morning breakfast.  I decided to use instant banana bread oatmeal.  This gave the already yummy pancakes a hint of banana.  Who doesn't love strawberries and bananas. 

Strawberry Oatmeal Pancakes

 Recipe Courtesy of Jen's Journey

Ingredients

• 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup whole wheat flour
• ¼ cup old-fashioned oats (I used instant banana bread oatmeal)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups nonfat buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
• ¼ cup honey, divided  (I used agave)
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup of strawberries sliced in half 

Instructions

1. Whisk together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
2. In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, melted butter, 2 tablespoons honey and egg in a medium bowl.
3. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moistened.
4. Heat a nonstick griddle or large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Pour about ¼ cup batter for each pancake onto hot skillet; sprinkle with 4 to 6 strawberry halves.
5. Cook 3 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles; turn and cook other side. Repeat with remaining batter and berries.
6. Top with any remaining berries, and drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons honey.

An InLinkz Link-up

Robert William Johnson 4/15/19 - 4/8/14

 

My father, Robert (Bob) William Johnson died Tuesday April 8, 2014 in Gretna, Nebraska, one week shy of his 95th birthday.  Born in Kansas City, Kansas on April 15, 1919 to Swedish immigrant parents, Bob was the only one of their four children to be born in the United States. He graduated from Rosedale High School in 1937 before enlisting in the Air Force on December 1, 1939. 

On December 7, 1941, Bob survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.  He continued his service in the Pacific theater throughout the duration of the Second World War before being honorably discharged on October 16, 1945. 

 Bob worked for various companies around Kansas City including Midwest Research Institute and King Radio, where he retired after 20 years. 

 Bob remained active into his nineties and enjoyed birdwatching, crossword puzzles and building vintage model boats. Bob will be remembered for his smiles and his songs. 

 

Dad, you will be missed!!!

Tie Dye Cake

A couple of weeks ago, Tim's boss was turning 50 and he inquired about my cake decorating "skills".  Although I did take a series of cake baking classes a few years ago, lack of time prevents me from cake decorating as much as I would like.  I agreed, under one condition, I could find a fairly easy cake to bake.

Turning 50, meant she was born in the 60's.  What was popular in the 60's?  How about tie dye?  There's lots of examples of tie dye cakes on line.  After reading about a few of them, I said I can do this??!!!

I decided to make a three layer cake, two 8" and one 9" layer.  In hindsight, I wish I had done three 8" layers.  It was really hard to get the frosting smooth on the ledge between the 8 and the 9" layer.  In addition I made one 8" layer as a test.  I wanted to cut into one and see how it looked.

 The process is fairly easy but be sure to allow plenty of time.   Start by preparing a white cake mix according to the directions.  (I used two cake mixes).  Divide them into 6 bowls, and make each bowl a different rainbow color. Line the bottom of two 9 inch cake pans with wax paper, and grease the side.  Layer your cake batter in circles.  The first directions I looked at suggested using a spoon, which is what I did on my test cake.  It worked okay but for the additional layers, I decided to use a measuring cup with a spout.  A little more work but a lot easier to pour into circles.  Use about 3/4 of the bowl for your bottom color, then use a little less of each color as you continue. Layer your second cake pan in the opposite order. 

 Bake according to the directions on the box.  Allow the cake to cool and frost with your favorite buttercream frosting.  My frosting didn't look as smooth as I would have liked and the more I tried to smooth it the worse it looked.  Then I remembered a technique I learned when I took cake decorating classes.  Once your frosting has developed a bit of a crust,  use a piece of parchment and use your fingertips to smooth the frosting along the parchment.  Works great!!!

Using food coloring gel in 6 colors, starting on the outside, make circles with the gel.  Using a small, flat paintbrush, starting at the center, brush towards the outside of the cake.  You'll need to clean your brush often, or use multiple brushes.  Continue until you don't really see any more gel patches on your cake.   Slice and enjoy!!!

Love Chicken...Tenders!

Tim's grandson Paxton, LOVES chicken!!  Usually when he visits on a weeknight, we have some form of noodles, also a favorite of his.  When he stayed with us a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to make something besides noodles.  After reading a few recipes for Chicken Fingers, I came up with my own version.  Alongside these Mac & Cheese Cupcakes, a perfect kids meal!

Chicken Tenders
1/3 cup pancake batter
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 egg
1 lb chicken tenders
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 450°F. Spray cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

Mix together pancake mix, breadcrumbs, cheese,  garlic salt and oregano leaves. Pour on large plate.

In shallow dish, beat egg slightly. Dip the chicken tenders in egg and then dredge in bread crumb mixture.

Place chicken tenders on the cookie sheet.  Lightly spray chicken with cooking spray. Bake 15 minutes.

Pacifier Cupcakes

One of my coworkers is about to become a grandmother for the first time.  We celebrated the event with a mini grandmother shower.  Being the baker of the group, I volunteered to make treats.  I wanted to make something fun and cute to celebrate the occasion ... something that didn't require a lot of work.

I did some searching on Pinterest and found these cute pacifier cupcakes.  They are so easy to make.
All you need are wintergreen lifesavers and jelly belly's.  The instructions I found used Royal Icing to glue them together.  I decided to use Wilton Candy melts, much quicker and easier.  I saw some recipes that used the color jelly belly of the baby and others, like mine, that used the color of the pacifier. 

Macaroni and Cheese Muffins - SRC

 It's Secret Recipe Club reveal day!  For those of you who aren't familiar with Secret Recipe Club, you can read all about it here!!!  I enjoy reveal day but my favorite part of SRC is getting to know my assigned blogger for the month and choosing a recipe!!!  This month, I was assigned Mostly Food & Crafts.  Danielle is a SAHM with two kids.  She enjoys cooking, crafting and says her kids are good eaters, yeah!  If you haven't visited her blog, stop by, she has lots of terrific recipes and fun crafting projects.  

After several nights of browsing, I settled on Macaroni and Cheese Muffins.  Paxton, Tim's grandson, loves anything with noodles so I knew these would be hit with him.  With the exception of the crackers, I followed the recipe as written.   I think I didn't bake mine long enough or it was a little too cheesy, I had trouble getting mine to stay in cupcake form.  regardless, this makes a delicious, creamy mac n cheese.  I popped my leftovers into the freezer, they'll be perfect for lunches.  

Macaroni and Cheese Muffins

Recipe Courtesy of Mostly Food and Crafts

 

Ingredients:

Round butter-flavored crackers

1 (8-ounce) package elbow macaroni

1 can cheddar cheese soup

1/2 cup cooking creme or milk (I used milk)

3 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese  (keep 1/4 cup out to sprinkle on top)

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or use muffin wrappers. Place a cracker in the bottom of each muffin cup and set aside.

Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain and return to pot. Stir in remaining ingredients until well-blended.

Spoon mixture into muffin cups and sprinkle with extra cheese.

Bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until heated through. Let stand for 5 minutes, remove from tin with knife if you didn't use the muffin papers.

An InLinkz Link-up

Biscoff Krispie Mallow Bars

I love trying new dessert recipes, there's so many to choose from.    Last week, Tim's office had a treat day.  With over 200 recipes pinned to my "Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth" board, which one to choose?  Since I needed to bake on a weeknight, I was in search of something easy.

Have you seen all of the different Rice Krispie treats recipes?  Rice Krispie treats are easy  to make, so I settled on this recipe.   With the addition of a crust, these are a little different than traditional Rice Krispie treats.  I substituted semi sweet chocolate chips for white chocolate chips.  Tim said the crew at work gave them rave reviews. They were a little too sweet for my tastes and I love sweet desserts.

Biscoff Krispie Mallow Bars
Recipe courtesy of Julie's Eats and Treats
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Ingredients

• 1 yellow cake mix
• 1 egg
• 3/4 c. melted butter (divided)
• 3 c. miniature marshmallows
• 1 c. white chocolate chips (I used semi sweet chips)
• 1 c. Biscoff
• 1/2 c. corn syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 c. Rice Krispies

Instructions

1. Mix the cake mix, egg and 1/4 c. butter. Press into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees.
2. Put the marshmallows on top of the hot crust. Return to oven for 3 minutes or until puffed up.
3. Melt the white chocolate chips, Biscoff, corn syrup and 1/2 c. butter. Add vanilla and mix. Pour over Rice Krispies in a large mixing bowl. Mix well.
4. Pour over marshmallows. Refrigerate, but make sure to cut before they get to hard!

Throw Away the Bread Machine Instructions - Soft White Bread

Do you own a bread machine?  I do but I can't remember the last time I used it.  When I brought it in from the garage shelf today, the dust was pretty thick.  Which makes me wonder, have I used it at all since we moved into this house in October of 2011?  In fact, I came close to sending it to the Goodwill in my last round of clearing out things I haven't used.  Ask my husband, if we haven't used something in quite sometime, it's gone!!!  He joked when we were moving last time, if he didn't use something within a week, I'd give it away. 

After reading Lynn from Happier Than A Pig in Mud's post about this bread, I was so glad I didn't give my bread machine away.  I've never had great luck with making bread from scratch in the machine.  The best breads I've turned out have been from those bread machine mixes.  Until now that is!!! If you own a bread machine, give this one a try.  You won't be sorry, it makes a delicious loaf of bread.  Can't wait to make a sandwich with it this week!!!

A few notes on this recipe:

• The recipe calls for bread flour,  I used all purpose and it worked fine. 
• You can either use butter or oil in the recipe.  Tim just gave me some flavored olive oils for my birthday.  I used 2 T. of rosemary olive oil.  It added a nice subtle rosemary flavor to the bread.
• I've never let my yeast bloom when making bread in the bread machine.  It is reported to be the secret for a nice soft loaf of bread.

 Throw Away the Bread Machine Instructions-Soft White Bread
From Food.com courtesy of Happier Than A Pig in Mud

1 C warm water (110 degrees F)
2 Tblsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp bread machine yeast (one package)
2 Tblsp melted butter
2 Tblsp oil (can use shortening or 4 Tblsp butter)
3 C white bread flour
 1 tsp salt

1. Place water in the bread pan. Tip: Lynn says "I like  to warm up the pan first by running some hot water into it then pouring it out."
2. Sprinkle the sugar and yeast over the water, allow to bloom for 10 minutes.
3. Add the butter, oil, flour and salt.
4. Select the basic or white bread 1.5lb loaf and press start. Or select the dough cycle and punch down the dough, form and place in a bread pan for the second rise.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Cinnamon Ripple Muffins - Secret Recipe Club

After a break in January, Group B of Secret Recipe Club is back.  I always look forward to opening the email with my monthly assignment.  Will it a blogger I am familiar with or one I've never "met" before?  My assigned blogger for this month is Chaya of Bizzy Bakes.  I've "known" Chaya almost as long as I have been blogging! Check out her blog, she has some the best baked goods and lots of other recipes.  Stop by and show her some blogging love, she's experienced a personal loss recently!!!

It was hard to decide which recipe to make.  Recently, it was a coworkers birthday and I wanted to bring her treats.  Chaya's Cinnamon Ripple Muffins caught my eye.  I love all things cinnamon and these looked beautiful.  

My muffins took about 20 minutes to bake.  I always struggle with how to tell when muffins are done.  These are a delicious cinnamon filled treat!

Cinnamon Ripple Muffins  (adapted from Family Fun magazine)
Recipe Courtesy of Bizzy Bakes
 Ingredients:

cinnamon ripple
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
4 tablespoons oil
1/4 cup gluten-free flour (I made this with regular flour)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
 
muffin batter
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method:

Combine all the cinnamon ripple ingredients in a mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to blend them. Set the mixture aside. 

Preheat heat the oven to 400° F and put inserts into muffin cups.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

 In a large bowl, beat the oil and sugar with an electric mixer until the mixture is pale and fluffy, then beat in the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract. 

Stir in the dry ingredients just until the batter is blended. 

Then sprinkle the cinnamon ripple over the batter and use a flexible spatula to fold it in a couple of times.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups and bake the muffins for 13 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean. 

Let the muffins cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes before removing them. Makes 1 dozen.

Lemon Butter Baked Shrimp

 With Christmas falling midweek this year, Tim and I were home for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  We haven't enjoyed Christmas at home in at least 4 years.  We missed being with friends and family but it was nice to have a quiet day to enjoy each others company.

Since we're rarely home for Christmas, we don't have a traditional Christmas Eve meal.  I wanted to have something special that didn't require hours in the kitchen.  We both love shrimp but almost always grill it.  Grilling and Omaha winters don't mix.  I did a quick search and found this recipe.   I read it several times and read the reviews.  Although it almost seemed too simple and easy, I was sold.  Well simple or easy would not be the first word I would use to describe this recipe, delicious would be!

We will be having these again and this recipe could easily be served at a dinner party.  Be sure to have some crusty bread to soak up the delicious sauce!!

 Lemon Butter Baked Shrimp

• 1 lb. raw shrimp, cleaned, peeled and deveined
• 8 Tbs. butter (1 stick), melted
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (my addition)
• 1 packet of Good Seasons Italian all natural seasoning
• 1 1/2 lemon, sliced into circles
• 1 Tbs. dried parsley leaves
• 1 tsp. black pepper, ground

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a small bowl, mix the melted butter with minced garlic, and pour into a 9×111 inch glass casserole dish, spreading it all over the bottom of the dish.
3. Arrange the lemon slices on top of butter, forming a single layer.
4. Arrange the cleaned and deveined shrimp on top of the lemon slices.
5. Sprinkle the Italian Seasoning over the shrimp.
6. Sprinkle the parsley flakes and pepper on top of that.
7. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.

Oven Tacos

Happy New Year!!

Tim says we never have tacos. I stopped to think about it and realized he is right.  I think maybe because we never have all the ingredients on hand to make them.  I was intrigued when I saw this recipe for oven tacos.  We really liked these.  It's nice they're already assembled and baking them in the oven adds a nice crispness to the shells.  Maybe now we'll have tacos more often, Tim!

Oven Tacos
Recipe Courtesy of Mommy I'm Hungry

2 lbs ground beef (or turkey/chicken)
1 small onion diced
1 small can diced green chilies
1 recipe for Homemade taco seasoning (below)
1 (8 ounce) can low sodium tomato sauce
1 (16 ounce) can fat free refried beans
2 cups shredded reduced fat Colby-jack cheese
18-20 hard taco shells

Optional Condiments-
Lettuce (shredded)
Tomato (diced)
Salsa
Guacamole
Sour Cream
Olives, sliced 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

In a large skillet brown ground beef and onion over medium-high heat. Drain off any excess liquid. Return to pan, add chilies, refried beans, tomato sauce, and taco seasoning. Mix well and cook for a few minutes if mixture seems runny.

Spoon the taco meat mixture into the taco shells and place into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish standing up. Sprinkle cheese over the top of the taco meat in each shell. Place into the oven and bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the tacos are heated through.
Remove from the oven and top with any optional condiments for serving.

Taco Seasoning
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

In a small bowl, mix all together. Store in an airtight container.
I used all of this on 2 lbs of ground meat with a little water mixed in.