Pecan Cream Scones with Raspberry Butter

I hosted coffee this morning for three of my friends.  I love hosting it and I love being able to catch up with them!  Even though we all have very different personalities and views, we all seem to mesh well together and I love them.  We all have kids the same age; we actually met because of that at pre-school and play groups, and have kept in touch since.  We get together monthly, at least we try, for coffee or lunch or even a rare girl's night out.

Today I made Pecan Cream Scones and Raspberry Butter for the occasion. The scone recipe I use often, but the butter was new today.  It was a great combination and turned out to be super yummy!

Pecan Cream Scones {Recipe}
Adapted from my Mom's friend, Nina


2 1/4 cups Flour
1 Tbls Baking powder
1 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Ground pecans, toasted
1 1/2 cups Heavy whipping cream

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in mixing bowl.  Stir in cream with wooden spoon.  Turn out onto floured surface and knead slightly until it forms a firm dough ball.  Divide dough in half equally and then flatten each half into a round disc that is about 1-inch thick.  Transfer discs to a baking sheet lined with parchment. Cut each disc into 8 pieces (like a pizza...I actually use a pizza cutter to do it and it works awesome!) but do not separate the pieces.  Brush with heavy whipping cream and sprinkle with course sugar.  Bake for 16 to 20 minutes or until slightly golden brown on the edges and bottom.  Cool on a cooling rack, serve and enjoy!

Raspberry Butter {Recipe}

1/2 cup Butter (1 stick), softened
1/2 cup Raspberries
2 Tbls + 1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla


In blender or food processor, add berries, sugar and vanilla to mix.  Add butter and mix until smooth. 


Yes, I added a name tag.  I'm just cool like that!



I hope that this post and recipe inspires you to invite some of your girls over for coffee and scones.  After all, we all need friends to chat with and vent to...it makes up better people.  Well, it does for me anyway!

Hot Cocoa and Wedding Favors

Well Hello Again!

It has been a little bit since my last post!  Longer than I intended, that is for sure.  We have been very busy preparing for and attending my sister's wedding. 

As promised, here are the wedding favors that I made for her. 

Aren't they so adorable!?!  My sister got the idea from this post on Inspired Bride.

They were pretty time consuming, but overall were a huge hit, making the effort totally worth it.  Personally, I think that someone could give these for small Christmas gifts.  For neighbors, teachers, coaches, etc.  Or even a favor for a Christmas Dinner Party.

Needless to say, making these favors drove my hubby and me to drink!  Hot Cocoa, that is!  If you're in the mood for a nice cup of cocoa, you have to try this recipe that I used to fill the tubes.  It really couldn't be any easier!

Hot Cocoa

1 cup milk, warmed

1 1/2 Tbls Cocoa Powder (I used Ghirardelli)

1 1/2 Tbls Sugar

Splash of Vanilla Extract (optional)

Mix cocoa powder and sugar.  Stir into hot milk.  Add vanilla, if desired.  Stir.  Enjoy.

See?  Easy, right?  Sometimes the simpler, the better!

Have a fabulous week!

PB & J

If someone, ten years ago, would have told me that in ten years I would be married with 3 kids.  I would have been happy.  If some would have told me I would be married with 3 kids and be making them organic PB&J sandwiches from scratch, I would have thought they were nuts!  Things can really change a lot in ten years! 

Yesterday morning I made strawberry-raspberry jam, and while it was cooking, I made peanut butter.  Then in the afternoon, I made bread.  Voila!  PB&J sandwiches and happy kids! 
 

OOOEY GOOEY and Yummy!

 Strawberry-Raspberry Vanilla Jam

3 1/2-4 lbs. Strawberries*, roughly chopped
6oz. Raspberries*, pureed
3 cups Sugar*
1/2 medium Lemon*, juiced
2 Tbls Butter*

Add all ingredients, except butter, in large saucepan and give it a stir.  Let it marinate until juices from fruits are extracted, about 20-30 minutes.  At this point I used my immersion blender to mix and puree the fruit.
Turn heat on, add butter and bring to a boil.  Stirring occasionally is necessary as the mixture starts to break down, reduce and thicken. 
As soon as it starts to thicken, you can check for jellying point.  You may use your candy thermometer to get it up to 220 degrees, but I don't prefer this method.  I use the following instructions from Hungry Foodies Pharmacy's recipe for Plum Jam sans Pectin:
"Put a few small ceramic dishes into the freezer.
Take out one of the ceramic dishes from the freezer.  Ladle a small teaspoonful of the jam onto the cold dish and put it back into the freezer for one minute.  Remove the dish from the freezer and draw your finger through the jam.  If the jam does not close up the channel, then it’s ready.
If processing, pour hot preserves mixture into a hot, sterile 1/2-pint glass canning jar, filling jar to within 1/4-inch from top; wipe rim and seal jar with lid. Put jar in water-bath canner or on rack set in a deep kettle and cover with hot water by 1 to 2 inches. Boil and process in a boiling water bath, covered, 10 minutes. Transfer jar to a rack using tongs and let cool completely. Store in a cool, dark place, up to one year.
If you are not interested in canning, ladle jam into clean jars and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months."

 This recipe made 2 1/2 pints of jam.

*Organic

juicy after 20 minutes

So pretty and satisfying!

Peanut Butter {Recipe}

Blurry, but creamy

Ingredients:
Peanuts

Add peanuts to food processor.  Blend until smooth. Put into a jar or container and store in the refrigerator.
Note: if you are using unsalted peanuts, add a pinch or two of sea salt when blending.

Now all of the sudden PB&J is looking better, right?  Not just a "junk food" for kids, it's actually naturally healthy!

My kids are out of school for in-service and conferences for the rest of the week...5 day weekend!  Woohoo!

Enjoy your day,



Our Favorite Tomato Sauce

Tonight we are going on a hayride with our church group.  It is an annual thing that we do and it is so much fun.  It is like a big family gathering, much like a Thanksgiving get-together.  Everybody brings a dish to share, there is a huge fireplace in the shelter in which we meet, and two large fire pits right outside for roasting marshmallows.

I am bringing mini quiches and the ingredients for s'mores.  I found organic graham crackers on sale for only a few cents more than the regular brand and I bought Ghirardelli chocolate bars instead of Hershey's for about the same price.  However, I couldn't find natural marshmallows {sigh} and so I had to buy the regular kind.  I know it is for a crowd and most people that will be indulging don't even care, BUT I DO!

Anyway, I will steer away from my rant for a moment and onto my tomato sauce.  It is my hubby's absolute favorite tomato sauce.  He actually will eat it plain, like, by itself.  I have always made it with canned tomatoes, but recently I learned that the inside of the cans are coated with a product that contains Bisphenol A (aka, BPA).  So, that is now out of the question.  I made it using fresh organic tomatoes.  It turned out just a great! 

Beautiful Red Ripe Organic Tomatoes
and an onion

Spaghetti Sauce {Recipe}

2 Tbls Olive Oil*
1 large Onion*, chopped
4 cloves Garlic*, chopped
4 lbs. Tomatoes*, chopped or pureed (I didn't even peel them!)
1 Tbls dried Parsley*
1/2 tsp dried Basil*
1/2 tsp Onion powder*
1/2 tsp Garlic powder*
1 Tbls Sea Salt
2 Tbls Sugar*

1. Sauté  onion in olive oil over medium heat until tender, add garlic and cook another minute. 
2. Add tomatoes, spices, sugar, and salt. 
3. Stir and lower heat until your sauce slowly simmers.  Simmer for about 2 hours, stirring frequently. 

*Organic

Have a fantastic weekend!

Date Night with an Appetizer

Every Monday is date night for my hubby and me.  Well, actually, it's when we watch the show Castle together.  I think that constitutes as date night, don't you?
Anyway, I was fancying it up last night by making one of our favorites...Buffalo Roasted Cauliflower with Homemade Buttermilk Ranch.  It was delish!



This isn't a great picture and it doesn't do it justice!


Buffalo Roasted Cauliflower

Preheat oven to 550 degrees.
Cut head of organic cauliflower into florets.  Wash, pat dry and put into a bowl. Drizzle florets with a bit of olive oil and enough Franks's RedHot sauce to coat each piece.  Toss and pour onto baking sheet lined with parchment.  Bake until edges are crispy and burnt looking, about 30 minutes.
Serve with ranch, I made homemade organic ranch dressing.

Sound good?  If not, you have to try it anyways, because it is spicy and fabulous!  Pretty healthy, too!

Homemade Kettle Corn

He is ready with a full
backpack!

Today was a busy day.  Well, aren't they all!?!? 
My Little Dude went to work with Daddy today so that I could accompany my Princess Cupcake on her class field trip to the local pumpkin farm.  It is the most beautiful Fall day today and I was thrilled to be able to go with them!
I over heard someone at the farm telling her friend about the kettle corn that they had there.  That is all it took for me to have a hankering for the stuff for the rest of the day, well, at least until I got home and made some!  It really doesn't take much because I love kettle corn! 

Homemade Kettle Corn in super easy and absolutely fantastic.  You should give it a try!


Can you see that sweet and salty goodness?

Homemade Kettle Corn

2/3 cup Organic, Non-GMO Popcorn Kernels
1/3 cup Organic and/or Non-GMO Oil, such as coconut or olive
1/4 cup Organic Sugar
1 tsp Sea Salt

Add oil to large heavy bottomed pot with lid.  Add a kernel of popcorn, when it pops, the oil is hot and ready to pop the corn quickly.  Add the popcorn, sugar and salt.  Give it a quick stir and put on lid loosely.  With potholders, continue to shake the pan gently over heat to prevent burning.  You will know when it's done, because the popping sounds almost stops.  Pour into a bowl and let cool a minute.  Break up any clumps with a spoon or utensil.  Voila!  Kettle Corn from your own kitchen!



Handmade paper cups for the kids' snack.



I am hoping to do a post about the {finished} wedding favors, all 235 of them, that I am making for my sister's wedding, later this week.  It will be a great job done and a relief to finish them a little early.  Then on to finishing the bride-maid's flip-flops!

Have a great week! 

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

It's another cold day here and soup is the perfect remedy for lifting your spirits, don't you think?  This is a creamy, full-of-flavor, healthy soup.  I didn't make it with the croutons that the original recipe called for, as I have homemade bread that I think goes just as well.  This is definitely what I call comfort food! 

I usually send the leftovers with the kids for their lunch, the Thermos seems to keep in warm enough for them.  It certainly is better than the "hot lunch" that is served at school, in taste and nutrition!

Creamy Cauliflower Soup
Adapted from Annies-Eats; originally from Super Natural Everyday by Heidi Swanson

Ingredients:
For the croutons:
About 6 oz. whole grain bread, cut into ½-inch cubes
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
Kosher or sea salt

For the soup:
4 tbsp. butter
1 medium red onion*, chopped
1 medium yellow onion*, chopped
Sea salt
3 medium red potatoes*, diced  into ¼-inch cubes
2 cloves garlic*, minced
6-7  cups vegetable broth*
1 head cauliflower*, chopped into  florets
1 ½  cups shredded mozzarella cheese
4 tsp. Dijon mustard*

Directions: 
To make the croutons, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Add the bread cubes to a medium bowl and toss with the melted butter, olive oil, and mustard until evenly coated.  Spread the bread cubes out in an even layer on a baking sheet and sprinkle with the salt.  Bake for 10-15 minutes or until crunchy.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 4-5 minutes.  Season with salt, then mix in the potato, garlic and vegetable broth.  Cover the pot and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat to a simmer, keep covered, and let cook for about 6 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.  Add the cauliflower and cook about 5-6 minutes more, until the cauliflower is tender.  Stir in the cheese and mustard.
Puree with an immersion blender (or a food processor, vented to allow the steam to escape).  Mix in additional water or broth if the soup is too thick.  Season with additional salt to taste.  Serve warm topped with additional shredded cheese and the croutons.

*Organic.  I use organic produce, and other organic foods as much as possible.  Substitute organic, where you can!

He loves soup because he dips bread in it!

Have a great weekend!