~Groovy Baby Shower~

My little sister, Kayda, is going to have a sweet baby girl!  She's due October 30th!  I'm crossing all my fingers AND toes that she arrives during my birthday month...which is OCTOBER!  Kayda is hoping for 11-1-11 which is a pretty cool date to have as a birthday!  Someone suggested at the shower that an even better date would be 11-11-11!  Kayda said NO WAY!
We had so much fun giving her a shower on Saturday!  It was a Groovy/Hippie theme!  We had fun with that!  Lot's of tie dyed stuff!!  Have I told you before that I LOVE to be in the kitchen??  Well, I do!  I got to make most of the goodies!  It was almost as much fun doing a photo shoot for them (the goodies) as it was making and eating them!  I'll share a few pics with you...and as soon as my sister (KEESHA) gets me more pictures...I'll share the whole table scape view!

These cupcakes were SO much fun to make!  There is actually 4 colors in there but the yellow and green were so close that I should have separated them more!  I used...1 Strawberry cake mix-1 Lemon cake mix-1 white cake mix tinted purple-1 white cake mix tinted green.  The flavor was amazing!  It was kind of like a "Lemon/Berry" taste!

I got the idea from here!  Candy Wafers melted tinted and peppermint flavoring added!  Dropped out on wax paper in blobs and swirled together with a tooth pick!  I was a little gun shy on the first batch to "get with it" and really swirl!  The second batch I kicked it up a notch!  Be VERY careful to NOT over heat the wafers when melting them in the microwave!

Here's the candy all broken up...after the shower was over and it had been picked through!  I forgot all about taking a picture of it before so there weren't little candy crumbs all over!

Kamron, Me, our Mom (Karlea), Kayda (the pregnant one), my Grandma Tincy (our Mom's Mom), Keesha (the sister that wants to wait another 5 yrs. to have a baby!  HA...she's the planner...we'll see how well that all works out for her! :)

Apple Cobbler w/ warm Vanilla Sauce

I'm addicted to the kitchen right now!  Oh well, I guess fall is in the air!  Mike loves anything with cinnamon in it so I know if I find a recipe and that is one of the ingredients...I'm in luck!  I saw this recipe, made a few changes, then added my Vanilla Sauce on top and it took no time at all to whip up!  I had 2 Granny Smith apples that needed used and I threw in 1 Pear (only because I didn't have another apple) to have my 3 or so cups!  It's SUPER delicious!!  A Keeper for sure!!

Apple Cobbler

w/ warm Vanilla Sauce

(Preheat oven to 350°)

½ c. butter, cut into 8 pieces

1 c. sugar

1 c. flour

1½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

½ c. milk

½ c. whipping cream

3 c. apples (Granny Smith) peeled & sliced

1½ tsp. cinnamon

*Place butter in a 2 qt. baking dish & place dish in the oven until butter is melted.

*Combine sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add cream & milk to dry mixture and stir.

*In a large bowl toss apples with cinnamon.

*Pour batter into prepared dish and scatter apples over batter.  Bake about 40-50 min. or until light brown and bubbly.

Vanilla Sauce

1 c. sugar

2 T. flour

1 ½ c. whipping cream

½ c. butter

2 tsp. vanilla

Cook over med. Heat whisking often until thickened.  Serve over cobbler!

I can't stay out of the kitchen!

I really don't know what's gotten into me!  I just want to be baking!!  I had some banana's that needed to be used up... and I found a new recipe!!!  Introducing *Coconut Banana Bread w/ Lime Glaze*!  The lime gives a sweet new twist to Banana Bread!  It's absolutely the best banana bread ever!  Wouldn't these make cute little Christmas breads to give to friends!  Geez...it doesn't even have to be Christmas to share...does it?!?  One batch makes 4 mini loaves.
ps...Mom if you read this before I get to your house...I'm bringing you one!  You missed out on the Peach Cobbler so I thought you deserved it!!

Coconut Banana Bread w/ Lime Glaze

Preheat oven to 350°

1 c. sugar
¼ c. (4 T.) real butter, softened
2 large eggs
1½ c. mashed ripe bananas (about 4 lg. bananas)
¼ c. sour cream
3 T. milk
1 tsp. vanilla (or coconut extract)
2 c. flour
¾ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ c. coconut (+ a little more to sprinkle on top)

Glaze: ½ c. powdered sugar whisked with 1½ T. fresh lime juice

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until blended.  Add eggs and beat to combine.  Add mashed bananas, sour cream, milk, and vanilla (or coconut extract).  Beat until blended.
Add flour, baking soda, and salt.  Beat on low speed until just combined.  Stir in ½ c. coconut.
Pour batter into a 9×5″ loaf pan (or 4 mini loaf pans) that have been sprayed with non-stick spray.  Sprinkle additional coconut on top before baking.
Bake in the oven for about 1 hour or until a knife or skewer inserted in center comes out clean.
Note: Check bread after about 40 minutes.  If the top has browned and the coconut pieces are looking toasty, cover top of bread lightly with a piece of foil.  Continue baking until done.
Let cool on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes.  Whisk powdered sugar and lime juice together for the glaze and then drizzle over top.  Cool for another 15 minutes before slicing.  Package up and share!!

Homemade Hot Rolls...

In Honor of my Mother in law today...Homemade Rolls!

 
I'm sure I'll never be able to make them exactly like her but, I think they're pretty close!  Making them really made me miss her today!  She was an amazing unselfish person!  She loved us through her baking!  She would do anything for her family, always putting everyone else before herself...  Her family was her life!  Miss you...

I tweaked her recipe to work in my bread machine (dough setting)... something she would have never used and I don't think I ever told her that I was using it!  She did it the old fashioned way... LOTS of kneading!!


Lorene's Rolls (bread machine version)

1 c. warm water (not too hot...about 110°)
1/3 c. white sugar
1 pkg. Red Star yeast or (I use bulk yeast...2 1/4 tsp.)
4 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 c. vegetable oil 
1 egg (beaten)

Gently mix the water, sugar, and yeast and pour in the bottom of the bread machine. Let the yeast dissolve and foam for about 10 min.
Add: flour, oil, salt, and egg to the yeast mixture.  Select the 1# dough cycle and start.  When it's done pinch off your dough and place in a greased 9x13 pan and cover with a greased sheet of wax paper and a kitchen towel over that.  Let rise until doubled in size.  Bake at 375° 15 min. uncovered then lay a piece of foil on top and continue 5 more min.  Right after you pull them out of the oven, rub a stick of butter over the top of the rolls until all roll tops are covered!

Hobby NO MORE...

I remember a day, long ago, when farming/ranching was his "hobby"!  Not sure when and how that all changed but it seems to be a full time job now...along with his other full time job!  This man never slows down!  It's what I love about him but, it's also what I dislike too!  Oh well, I guess I should be happy he's not in the house driving me crazy out of his boredom!

~Peach Cobbler~

OK...are you ready for a recipe?  I LOVE peaches!  So here is a peach cobbler recipe for you to enjoy.  I've made 3 in the last week.  One I shared with family, one I gave to a friend, and the 3rd well, I needed to use up the last of the peaches!  So It's now resting in my fridge!  Mmmm...

~Peach Cobbler~

12 med. size peaches or (3-16 oz. bags of frozen peaches thawed)

2 c. Sugar

1/2 c. Flour

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 tsp. Almond

Mix together and pour into a large buttered dish.

Sprinkle cinnamon over all. (we like a lot)

Then place dollops of butter on top of mixture.

Top Crust:

2 C. Flour

2/3 c. + 2 T. Crisco

3/4 tsp. salt.

Mix with a pastry blender until crumbly.  Then add:

7 T. ice cold water

Roll out and place on top of peach mixture.

Make a paste with sugar & cinnamon and a little milk and spread over the top of all the crust.

Bake @ 350° for 1 hr.

(You may want to put a sheet cake pan under it...it tends to bubble out a bit!)

Serve warm with a BIG scoop of Breyers Vanilla Ice Cream on top!

Sad Day...

Today is a very sad day here on earth for our family...but I know all the angels are rejoicing in Heaven.  A very sweet lady, my Mother in law, was welcomed Home last night.  She was the sweetest most unselfish lady and sacrificed much in her life for her boys.  If I could only be half the Mother that she was to her four boys.  She was VERY loved and will be greatly missed...

Until we meet again...