Sunday, December 26, 2010
Christmas Day Desserts
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Annual Baking Day!
My sister, my mom and I always get together and have a baking day before Christmas each year. This year we made a few different cookies each. My mom made Chocolate peanut clusters, Finger Frets, and Peanut Butter Blossoms..my fav! My sister made English Toffee and Thumbprints. I made Thin Mints and Soft Ginger Cookies...my other fav. It was really fun...we always enjoy ourselves and eat way to many cookies. Here are the recipes:
Big Soft Ginger Cookies-allrecipes.com
2 1/4 c Flour
2 tsp Ground Ginger
1 tsp Baking Soda
3/4 tsp ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
1/4 tsp Salt
3/4 c Margarine, softened
1 c Sugar
1 Egg
1 TBS Water
1/4 c Molasses
2 TBS Sugar
Preheat 350
Sift flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl. cream margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Then stir in the water and molasses. Add in the dry ingredients gradually. I like to refrigerate my dough for about 30 mins. If you don't have time it is not necessary. Then shape into balls, about the size of walnuts, and roll them in the remaining sugar. Place on cookie sheet and flatten down slightly with the bottom of a glass.
Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes and they are ready to eat!
Chocolate Glazed Peppermint Cookies...aka Thin Mints
1 c. Butter, softened
1 c. Sugar
1/2 c. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Egg
1 tsp Vanilla
2 1/2 c AP Flour
Chocolate Peppermint Coating
1. In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, add salt. Beat until combined, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour.
2. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a 10-inch roll. Wrap each roll in plastic. Chill about an hour or until firm enough to slice.
3.Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut rolls into 1/4 inch slices. Place slices one inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 6-8 minutes or until edges are firm. Transfer cookies to a wire rack;cool.
5.Dip each cookie into the Chocolate-Peppermint Coating, turning to coat all sides. Scrape off excess on bottom with thin metal spatula. Place on cookie sheets lined with wax paper. Chill until coating is set. Makes about 40 cookies.
Chocolate-Peppermint Coating
In a medium saucepan, combine two 12-oz packages semi-sweet chocolate pieces, 1/4 cup shortening and 1/2 tsp peppermint extract. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until chocolate and shortening are melted.
Cookies can store in freezer p to 3 months!
Christmas Brunch
No Christmas this year
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
New Blog Design!!!!!
Flour power started in my little brain when I was in High School. That is when I decided to go to Culinary School. I wanted to open up a bakery once I was done with school and call it Flour Power! It was going to be retro and just so fantastic...but after two years as an Event Planner I decided that I prefer to bake as a hobby and the food service industry was tough!!! The Hubs has however reignited my fire for owning my own bakery or restuarant of some sort..who knows maybe once our lil' guy isn't so lil' anymore I can start to think about it again. For now I will try and bring you great tried and true recipes here on my blog. I am a first time, full time mom with another full time job as a Criminal Researcher, so no promises on how often you will get these tasty lil' nuggets!!!!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Thanksgiving Day Delights
I have about 10 minutes before I need to finish up my work day so I thought I would share a few recipes that I am making this year. The first one is a recipe from one of my favorite Chefs...Tyler Florence. It is sooooo good! It is a Brussel Sprout Hash. I never knew my love for Brussel Sprouts until I saw him make this on his show and they looked so good I had to try it. Now I make it about once a month. Since we are already making mashed potatoes I will omit the potatoes.
Bacon and Brussel Sprout Hash
Ingredients:
Extra-virgin olive oil...2 Counts
4 slices of thick-cut bacon
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 lb of fingerling potatoes, split down the middle
2 cups Brussel sprouts, cut into thick slices
1/2 lb red pearl onions, peeled
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 bunch flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Set a large saute pan over medium heat and add a 2 count of olive oil. Cut bacon into long strips and add to pan together with thyme. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes to render the fat then strain and set aside. Discard half the fat in the pan then add brussel sprouts, potatoes and pearl onions. Season with salt and pepper and cook until slightly browned. Add chicken stock and steam for 3 to 5 minutes until liquid has evaporated and vegetables are tender. Add balsamic vinegar and toss to coat. Cook until balsamic has reduced then fold in fresh parsley and bacon.
The second is Williams-Sonoma's Cornbread Stuffing Recipe. My family always asks for it. I almost didn't make it this year because The Hubs calls it "Fancy Stuffing" and he doesn't like it..but sorry babe everyone else does so you can have unfancy stuffing..which is delicious too:).
Ingredients:
8 cups cubed day-old corn bread (1-inch cubes)
2 cups cubed day-old country-style white bread, crusts removed (1-inch cubes)
1 1/2 lb. mild Italian pork sausage, casings removed
1 to 2 Tbs. olive oil, if needed
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 cup roasted and peeled chestnuts, quartered (I do not add this to my stuffing)
1/4 cup chopped mixed fresh herbs, such as sage, rosemary and thyme
3 cups low-sodium chicken stock
Directions:
Preheat an oven to 375°F. Butter a shallow gratin pan.Spread the corn bread and white bread out on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven until light golden brown and dry to the touch, about 20 minutes. Set aside. In a sauté pan over medium heat, brown the sausage, stirring and crumbling with a fork, until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Return the pan to medium heat. Add the olive oil to the accumulated fat in the pan, if needed. Add the onion and celery and sauté, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to the bowl with the sausage. Add the corn bread and white bread, the chestnuts, herbs and stock. Season with salt and pepper and stir gently to combine. Transfer the dressing to the prepared gratin pan, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until browned and crispy, 35 to 40 minutes more. Serves 10 to 12.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Craft Night and Master Bedroom Accessories
I also went to a Holiday Limo Tour of about 5 gift/antique shops in Riverside with my mom and a few of her friends. It was really fun. The limo took us to a shop that was participating in the tour and we got out and shopped and then got back in the limo to take us to our next shopping destination. I did not find anything until the very end at an antique store called Old Glory. I have never been there and I can't believe that it is only a few minutes from my house!!! I found the white horse chess piece pictured below!!! It was only 22.46. It is going to go great in my new Master bedroom. I also picked up the votive candle holders below at Michaels for like 1.00! I had just seen them in a magazine for a lot more so I was so happy I ran across them. And finally, another accessory for my Hollywood Regency room that I am so excited about. I made my own Starburst Mirror from two items from the Dollar Tree. I knew I wanted to use bamboo skewers for the Starburst portion...I had the gold paint and when I went to the Dollar Tree to find items for my Christmas Wreath I was so excited to see a round mirror and then a little ways down I saw a Styrofoam round that the mirror would fit perfectly on. I just inserted the skewers into the Styrofoam round(after painting gold) and then glued on the mirror. For a finishing touch I added some gold banding to cover the ugly parts:). It of course is not super amazing but for 2.00 and some change I would same I am very pleased with it. I can not wait to put this room together.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Money vs Time
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Mama Woes
I went to Kohl's because I have been in desperate need of new jeans. I got paid and I headed straight there. I always seem to find a pair on the clearance rack, this time was no different..I was so happy. About five minutes into our Kohl's adventure, Shane started fussing. Ugghhh...really lil man??? "Momma needs this retail therapy", I cried out inside. He didn't get the vibe. I had to get a few other things. I was there less than an hour, which is good for me but not for Shane. I had planned on going grocery shopping too, but that did not happen. Accompanied to Shane's crankiness, is his clingingness(spell check did not recognize this word). So, I tried to take a nap on the couch when we got home, but my little monkey did not want that to happen.
Ok..I am still not done complaining (I mean telling my story). I also was asked to work OT. At about 9:15PM I put Shane to bed..hallelujah!!! Signed onto my computer and could not get up enough strength to move my mouse...forget this. I had worked one hour of OT earlier and decided to work a few extra hours today instead. Off to bed I go....well not quite..I suddenly had all this energy..figures!!! So I decided to go into bed, but just read. As I mentioned Scott was in Vegas and so I knew it would be hard for me to fall asleep. I turned off the light around 10:20 and so it began.
I swore that I heard someone breaking in at least 17 times. I was so upset with myself. I prayed and just said Lord, please give me a peace and let me fall asleep...it was now 11:00. I knew at 11:20 I could probably be close to falling asleep because that would be one hour since I laid down. I could feel myself falling into a deep sleep and then what is that I hear at 11:21??? Shane crying!!!! Are you serious? He has not done that in weeks... if not months. I had to start laughing. So this is what I signed up for being a mommy. I quickly jumped up, got the juices flowing again, and went to check on him. He was in the same position he was when I laid him down and I think his arm or something fell asleep..because he wouldn't move. He was in so much pain..poor guy. I found his binky and rocked him for a bit and he went back to sleep. So, now I had to start all over again! Dear Lord..please allow me to just pass out..AMEN.
12:33 I have probably been asleep for no more than 10 minutes. Dog jumps on bed. Bad idea for dog. I quickly snap at him and tell him very sternly to get in his bed. Daddy lets him sleep on his side..but that is a no no when it is just me. He never returned back to our bed...smart dog!!!!!
7:30 Shane wakes up. So much for getting in a few hours extra of sleep. Oh well it was a nice idea. I know God did not do this to be mean, or Shane, or the dog..but it is so weird. It seems as a Mom that it is impossible to sleep any more than 6-7 hours. I guess that is why everyone always tells you to sleep as much as you can before your child arrives. They were not kidding! You will never enjoy those Saturdays where you can sleep in as long as you want. I guess I will have to wait until Shane is a teenager to experience that again.
I told The Hubs that there are three things that I rarely get now that I have a child.
1. Sleep..obviously
2. Sex...sorry, but it is true..who has time or energy for that!
3. Showers..I am lucky if I get 2 a week...ewwwww!!!
And now I can add Shopping to the "S" list. I wouldn't trade any of it though. I am exhausted, clothes are dirty..hair needs to be washed...house is a mess..but even though I don't get a few of those "S's" on my list I gained the cutest, smartest, sweetest and most wonderful "S" of them all- SHANE!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Craigseasy!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Mood Board
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Craft Night
24 wontons
1 cup finely chopped Napa or Savoy cabbage
Coarse salt
6 ounces ground pork, not all lean
3 scallions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped, peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil ( I only had vegetable and it turned out fine).
Directions
In a medium bowl, toss cabbage with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Let stand 10 minutes. Wrap cabbage in a double layer of paper towels; firmly squeeze out excess liquid. Return cabbage to bowl. Add pork and oil to a pan and cook; add scallions, ginger, soy sauce and cabbage. Cook for 2 minutes. Meanwhile, lay out wonton wrappers and make an egg wash(1 egg with 1 TBS water). Apply egg wash with a pastry brush on two adjacent edges. Add about 1 tsp of pork filling to middle of each wrapper. then making a triangle press out any air around the filling. Heat a pan of oil and fry until crispy brown. Filling can be refrigerated up to two days. Martha Stewart recipe.
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
3 cups white sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Directions:
1.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.
2.
In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
3.
Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Craigslist Find!
I am redoing my Master Bedroom slowly...but I will post pics as soon as I get this piece painted and then in the room..yay for Craigslist!!!!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
STOOOOPPPPP......
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Ugly Pics No More!
I was so excited to see a post on making your photos better without Photoshop. I would love to have Photoshop but I do not. So, when I saw that I could download Picasa for free I was so all over that! I even put together a little collage and edited one photo and put text on it...amazing. So hopefully I will not have to apologize for all of my ugly photos no more! Here is the link to Little Miss Momma'a post. Oh and it is so easy to post to blogger as well since they are owned by Google. This is going to allow me to post more!!!!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Target Clerance Tips
Monday: Electronics, Kids clothing and Stationary
Tuesday: Domestics, Food Items, Pets, Women’s Clothing
Wednesday: Health and Beauty, Lawn & Garden, Men's Clothing, Toys
Thursday: Books, Decor, Housewares, Lingerie, Luggage, Music and Movies, Sporting Goods, Shoes
Friday: Auto, Cosmetics, Hardware and Jewelry
If the clearance price ends in a ‘4′ (i.e. $1.94) then it is at its lowest price!
I also think the clearance goes from 30% to 50% to 75% off..don't quote me on that though.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Will It Ever End!!!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
M.I.A.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Pumpin Spice Cupcakes
Makes 10 cupcakes (It made 17 for me)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup canned pumpkin purée (8 ounces), not pie filling
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush or spray the top of 10 muffin tins with vegetable oil and line them with 10 paper liners.
2. Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. In a larger bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin purée, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vegetable oil. Add the flour mixture and stir until combined.
3. Divide the batter among the prepared tins (I use a level 2 1/4-inch ice cream scoop) and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Master Bedroom Mood Board
I never make my bed. I used to when guests were coming over for the first time..but with the little one here now I just say that it is off limits and no one gets to see it. I think it is because I have such ugly bedding...well and because I just don't wanna! I have searched high and low online for a bedspread, comforter, bed-in-a-bag, duvet or any type of covering that I would like. I had an all black comforter before with little white and grey specks. It attracted to much lent and dog hair so I know I do not want that color again. I thought of all white with a band of grey but with a husband, dog and lil man in the house that is just not a good idea. Finally I decided to go with red. The walls are all grey and the accessories are silver and black so the room needs a punch of color. The bathroom is grey and red so it will work out perfectly. Now to find some bedding that I like that isn't 1,000 dollars!!!! This has been an impossible search.
I decided to just put together a mood board so I can stick with my plan and not change my mind a million times.
Patterns I am toiling with:
This is a wall stencil that I am going to attempt:
And finally a few accessories that I like:
Monday, August 30, 2010
Simply me
I am extremely and painfully shy. I am getting better. People don't scare me (man..I am afraid of a lot of things) as much as in the past. I used to cry before school or events where large amounts of people would be gathered. I am learning to Love God and myself and that is helping me love others.....long process:).
Home is where my heart is. I love everything about homes. From the front door to the back yard and everything in between. I even lovvvve to paint. It transforms a room with little money just some blood, sweat and lots of tears. You can tell a lot about a person just by taking a look at what they chose to surround themselves with.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Music Lover
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Beach Trip
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Home Cooked Meal
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Growing Pains
Shane will be 16 months in about a week and a half. Tonight I bought a tub stopper and bath mat, so that he could take a big boy bath. I found myself staring at the products wondering if I could just maybe hold off a few more weeks. I should have already retired the baby bath tub a long time ago...but I couldn't. It meant throwing out the fact that my baby is not a baby and is now a toddler. So along with the bath water...out went the baby tub. It is now dried...wrapped in a Hefty bag...and sitting out in the garage along with the shopping cart protector(cause mama isn't a hypochondriac any more about germs...you eat dirt..you're fine), the pack and play that has not held you captive in months, your bouncer and soon your high chair will be added to the mound of out grown baby products. If you have seen Toy Story 3 then you know about how sad it is for the toys to be put away..I wonder if the pack n play and bassinet are getting along out there???? I am sure the bouncer is keeping them in line...(cue drummer..ba duh bum ching).
This must be the time when most mama's have the urge for another one. Hmmmm...I think I will just take some Advil and call it a night. Growing pains are tough...but labor pains are tougher.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Blogging- As A Profession
Here are a few of my favorite blogs whose creators spend so much of their precious time for us to enjoy...thanks!!!!
http://littlemissmomma.blogspot.com/
http://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com
http://primitiveandproper.blogspot.com
http://www.theletteredcottage.net/
http://www.thesweetestoccasion.com/