Winter white baby shower

I had a lot of fun hosting this shower for a friend of mine. I loved the way it turned out!

This is how we play out side in Texas

Eggcelent production

Lemon cranberry tea cake

Lemon cranberry tea cake

Cake:
2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups caster (superfine) sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest
4 eggs
¼ teaspoon vanilla
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 cup milk
2 cups dried cranberries

Glaze:
½ cup icing sugar, sifted
½ cup lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 4 mini loaf pans with vegetable cooking spray.
In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the lemon juice, zest, eggs and vanilla until well combined.
In another bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add alternately with the milk to the egg mixture, beating just until combined after each addition. Fold in cranberries.
Divide batter among prepared pans and bake for 30-40 minutes if making mini-loaves. Remove to a wire rack, but leave in the pans.

Make the glaze: in a small bowl combine the sugar and the lemon juice. Pour over the hot loaves and allow to cool completely before carefully removing from pans. Wrap tightly to store.

Makes 4 mini size or 2 med. Size loaf pans

Jam Buns

Jam buns
from DH mag #14

2 teaspoons active dry yeast
5 tablespoons caster sugar
¾ cup (180ml) lukewarm whole milk
2 1/3 cups + 1 tablespoon (337g) all purpose flour
3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter, melted
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup raspberry jam or your favorite flavor
1 egg yolk, extra
2 tablespoons heavy cream
icing sugar, for dusting (optional)

Place the yeast, 2 teaspoons of the sugar and the milk in a large bowl and mix to combine. Set aside in a warm place for 5 minutes or until bubbles appear on the surface.
Add the flour, butter, yolk and remaining sugar to the yeast mixture and mix until a soft dough forms. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic, adding a little flour to the dough if it becomes too sticky – avoid adding too much flour or the dough will become tough. Make a ball with the dough, place in a lightly oiled large bowl, cover with plastic and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Butter a large baking sheet. Divide the dough into 16 pieces and roll into balls. Press out into circles measuring about 12cm (5in) in diameter and spoon 1 teaspoon of the ham into the center of each. Carefully fold over the dough to enclose the filling and pinch to seal. Place pinched side down onto prepared sheet.
Using a sharp knife, make a small cut in the top of each roll. Cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Whisk together the yolk and the cream and brush over the buns. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until dark golden. Serve warm or at room temperature, dusted with the icing sugar – the jam is extremely hot when the buns first come out of the oven, so handle and eat with care.

Makes 16

I don't know why I never thought of this!! Putting the jam in the roll before it bakes! They were really good and good the next day warmed in the microwave.

Mama has gone crochet crazy!

Hand made gift for Christmas

I forgot to blog about these mugs I made for the family for Christmas, I used them as the place cards and put some homemade hot cocoa mix in them, actually Annalyse made the hot chocolate mix.
I got the idea from Design Mom blog and she got the idea from the ones at Anthropology.

Tortilla Soup

I have finally found a tortilla soup recipe I like!! I love the one at the Saltgrass restaurant and have been trying to find a recipe like it. This one is pretty dang close!! I love it!

Tortilla Soup With Chicken And Lime
Don't let the ingredient list put you off. This soup is quick and easy to prepare and makes a great one-dish meal. The lime juice and zest added just before serving gives it a deliciously fresh, tangy flavor. It also reheats really well, so leftovers make a great lunch the next day.


Ingredients ~
1-1/2 cups chopped onion
2 Tbsp minced garlic
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup coarsely crushed tortilla chips (we like "hint-of-lime")
1 quart chicken broth (low sodium or homemade)
1 can 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp tabasco sauce
3/4 lb. boneless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite sized chunks
1 cup frozen corn
1/3 cup half & half
1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
Zest from one lime
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 small tomato, seeded and cut into small pieces
Sour cream
Fresh cilantro, chopped
Lime wedges


Heat olive oil in a stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic and jalapenos and saute until softened. Add the crushed tortilla chips, toss and toast lightly.

Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, spices and tabasco and simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Puree the mixture with a hand blender. Return to the stove, add the chicken and simmer for 5-7 minutes or until chicken pieces are cooked through.

Add the corn and half and half. Reduce the heat and stir in the shredded cheese. Add lime juice, lime zest and salt and pepper to taste and more tabasco if desired.

Ladle into serving bowls and top each with a dollop of sour cream, a few chunks of fresh tomato, chopped cilantro and a lime wedge.

Recipe Notes ~
I use a hand blender to puree the onion, tomatoes, jalapenos, and crushed tortilla chips, but if you don't have one in your kitchen just crush the chips really well and use 1-1/2 cups of tomato sauce instead of the diced tomatoes.

Winter time = crochet time

I've been crocheting like a made women!! Whenever it gets cold I get the itch to crochet something, I can't even fathom crocheting in the summer! I've made a couple hats, like 10 wash cloths and dish cloths, a shrug for Annalyse, a hat and scarf for a gift and working on a shrug for me.

P.s. I think I found a really cool blogging app!!!

Better-then-crack-brownies

I did not come up with the name! That's what they are really called!! And boy are they good!!

Better-Than-Crack Brownies

1 batch brownies
1/2 cup salted peanuts (if don’t have salted, add sea salt)
1 cup chopped Reese’s peanut butter cups
1 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies Cereal

Mix brownies according to directions, and bake for 20-25 minutes in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Remove and top with peanuts and peanut butter cups, and bake for 4-6 minutes more.

While they are finishing baking, melt chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter. Stir in cereal. Remove brownies from oven and evenly pour chocolate mixture over top.

Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

Bunuelos

Bunuelos
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup butter softened

Mix everything together until a nice ball forms, add a little flour to help it if you need to. Let sit for 30 min. I took a small chunk, about the size of a golf ball and rolled it out real thin, but not paper thin. Into a circle and then used the pizza cutter and cut the circle into triangles. or you could just do small circles. I fried them in my cast iron pan with about a 1/2 inch of oil. fry until golden on both sides. set on paper towel to drain and immediately sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Enjoy with a hot cup of cocoa!

Cinnamon sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon, you could use less but I like it heavy on the cinnamon!

Vary late Christmas post

I know this is supper late. Our home computer crashed and then someone deleted my blogger app from my ipad along with my pages app(like word) with all my saved stuff, not sure who was the culprit but I think he is 2, the kids no longer touch the ipad.
So on to our Christmas, it was very nice, the kids got lots of goodies, none of which came from wal-mart! one of my goals for this year. We then had a big dinner of ham and smoked turkey with all of Justin's family that are here(miss you S,J,M,M&M!!) everyone was so stuffed most of us fell asleep during the movie, and no one had dessert!
I hate how quick Christmas goes, we wait all month and then, blink, its over. I try to stretch it out as long as I can but then Justin is off and wants to put the decor up while he is home, so we take it all done and try to get the house in some kind of order.
We all took turns getting sick last month, it goes through one at a time instead of all together, so I missed a lot of church!!
I cant think of all the things that I wanted to blog, every time I had something I couldn't blog it! but Justin is back to work so I'm using his lap top ;) and now I cant think of anything! I had recipes I was going to post to, I'm sure ill think of it later.
New Years!! not much happened there, were not big partiers, we went to grandmas for dinner and then she made bunuelos, yum! I had to get the recipe and made some last night. I have to cut back on the baking, the jeans are getting a little tight!! I always do this, bake and cook and treats for everything and then i gain 10 pounds, I think my body likes to store some for the cold days to come!!! So like always i start the new year trying to work out and lose 10 pounds before swim suite season, which comes early around here! It wouldn't be so bad if we didn't live in swim suites all summer. And speaking of summer, seriously thinking of paying someone to come put the pool up, yes we still have it, no it didn't get put up at all last year and I had to deal with the heat or drive the kids to town to swim at the public pool. which wouldn't be to bad if it wasn't 20 minuets away!
As for resolutions, never do them cause I never keep them and thus keeping me from feeling like a failure. I have goals for my self that I am always working on and will probably be working on till I'm old and gray.
I didn't do cards again this year, I might do a new years letter, if you get one then I got to it, if not... We are doing great, Justin and I will celebrate 13 years of marriage next week, I love that man more then anything in this world. The kids are doing awesome, Annalyse is loving cheer leading. Zander loves kinder and is soaking it all up. Madden J, what can I say, he makes me smile every day, he is are carefree, teasing, following everything his brother does pain in the butt cutest kid ever! I am so very blessed its mind boggling! Looking forward to a wonderful new year and all it has in store. I'm hoping for a few more animals for my homestead, but we will see! So thankful for everyone in our lives family, friends and all of you who read my blog!

Happy 2011!!!