Sunday, February 26, 2012

Earl Grey Tea Cookies

I made these cookies awhile back from a Martha Stewart recipe. I had just enough butter to make a half batch of cookies. They are nice and small and I just used half of the batch and froze the rest of the dough. I halved the recipe except the tea. I used the full amount of tea for the half batch. I just cut open the tea bags and put it in the dough. If I make these again I will definitely grind the tea leaves a bit more. I was a bit distracted when I was making these, and I forgot to put in the sugar and over-mixed these a bit.



Delicious Earl Grey Tea from Murchies


 I love my new little measuring cup.


I rolled them up and then saw the sugar still sitting on the counter.


These cookies were so buttery and fragrant.

I find some Martha recipes to be a bit hit and miss. This one however is very easy and turns out exactly how you expect it to. I would definitely recommend it. 

Thursday, February 16, 2012

random update

I have been down with some sort of stomach flu. Since last Friday I have been feeling awful, luckily Andrew was spared so he has been amazing and keeping Jack occupied while I lay in bed watching episode after episode of Bones on Netflix. There hasn't been a whole lot of anything happening here. I think my poor child is ready to lose his mind.

Here are some random pictures...


Jackson playing in the new hot water tank box


This is what it look like when we have rice for dinner in this house


I woke up 3 weekends ago and Andrew had made waffles with homemade strawberry syrup, whip cream and bacon. He even had an Earl Grey Latte waiting for me. Such a nice treat

A couple of weeks ago Jack and I went on a lunch date to Milestones. I was really wanting the Grilled Chicken Salad. He would live on Chicken Fingers and Fries if we let him.

This weekend is a long weekend I plan on being better so we can have a better weekend than last. 


Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happy Valentines Day


Jackson loves his Valentine's Day Balloon. 

6 oz Melted Chocolate all 6 squares. Chop up the chocolate. Melt the chocolate 30 seconds at time. 

Dip 1lb of Strawberries in the melted chocolate. Let cool on wax paper in fridge until ready to serve.

Don't let your two year old know where your stashing the secret Strawberries

We are going on our traditional Valentines Denny's Dinner Date with our Jack. Then home to watch our DVR'd episode of the Walking Dead. Aren't we romantic?


Red Velvet Cake

I am not the biggest fan of Red Velvet Cake. I always have such a hard time with it. Until the Pioneer Woman came into my life. I absolutely love her cookbook. It's definitely not the healthiest food in the world but it is pretty fantastic.

So I made this Red Velvet Cake from The Pioneer Woman Cooks for my mother-in-law's Birthday. It turned out to be one of the best cakes I have made. It was so moist and delicious. Basically anything with buttermilk is always good in my books. You can find the recipe here

*It calls for a lot of dye which is my major beef with Red Velvet cake but if you use the gel dye the colour is definitely more vibrant and you don't have to use as much.







Friday, February 10, 2012

Raspberry Muffins

I wanted to try to recreate some raspberry muffins a coworker used to make for us. I could remember vaguely that she used yogurt in the batter but not what kind of yogurt. I am pretty sure it was plain but I usually only have vanilla. After I made these I remembered she put oatmeal in her muffins. I will try that next time. I like that you can just use frozen berries and I always have all these ingredients on hand. 

Raspberry Muffins (full recipe at the bottom)

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 12 cup muffin pan. 

Sprinkle 1Tbsp of flour over raspberries to coat. Set aside





In a large mixing bowl combine, Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Salt and Sugar. 





In another bowl or large measuring cup mix eggs, oil and yogurt together.



(Jackson copying mom and taking pictures. Unfortunately I took this picture seconds before he dipped the camera into the oil and killed the camera.)

Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.  Mix just until combined. You do not want to over mix your muffins. The batter will be thick don't worry it's supposed to be that way.

Gently fold in berries. 

I used a heaping ice cream scoop to distribute the batter. You can sprinkle a little bit of sugar on top if you like

Bake for 18-20 mins. Until golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.


Let cool completely or the might fall apart when you take them out. Actually now that I think about it if you use liners you may not have that problem :P


If you want to freeze some of these for later. I like to wrap them individually in plastic wrap and then into a freezer ziploc bag. Take them out the night before and have a delicious muffin for breakfast. Or if your like Andrew and cant wait just pop it into the microwave. 



Raspberry Muffins 
makes 12
adapted from theseasonalgourmet.ca

1-1/2 cups All purpose flour + a scant Tbsp to mix with frozen berries
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar +
1 or 2 additional Tbsp sugar to sprinkle on top of muffins (totally optional)

2 large eggs
2/3 cup oil
1/3 cup of yogurt (i used french vanilla but whatever you have on hand is fine)
1 cup of Raspberries 


Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 12 cup muffin pan. 

Sprinkle 1Tbsp of flour over raspberries to coat. Set aside

In a large mixing bowl combine, Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Salt and Sugar. 

In another bowl or large measuring cup mix eggs, oil and yogurt together.

Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.  Mix just until combined. You do not want to over mix your muffins. The batter will be thick don't worry it's supposed to be that way.

Gently fold in berries. 

I used a heaping ice cream scoop to distribute the batter. You can sprinkle a little bit of sugar on top of each muffin if you like.

Bake for 18-20 mins. Until golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
.
Let cool completely or the might fall apart when you take them out. Actually now that I think about it if you use liners you may not have that problem :P

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Favorite new recipes from Can you Stay for Dinner

I have been having some amazing sewing sessions lately, thanks to my lovely husband. I unfortunately can't post any pictures yet. That's the problem with making all these gifts for other people. I don't want to spoil the surprise.

I do have an amazing recipe to share with you. I found it at one of my favourite new blogs Can You Stay for Dinner. I find her story so inspiring and amazing.

I Love when you find recipes and they turn out exactly how you hoped they would. I have tried the Beef & Broccoli and now these amazing Coconut Crusted Chicken Tenders. Jack loved the Beef & Broccoli, anything with broccoli is an instant favourite.

I made a Honey Mustard dip for the Chicken Tenders

about 4Tbsp of Mayo and
2 or 3Tbsp of Dijon Mustard
About 1-2 Tbsp of honey

stir together
you can adjust ingredients to your liking



Friday, February 3, 2012

Books of 2011

I have kept a list of all the books I read in 2011. I have started working my way through a list of 100 hundred books I want to Read before I turn 30. I made a pretty good start last year. I especially have to thank my dear friend for gifting me with my Kindle. I love it so much, it definitely makes reading so much more convenient.  Do you have any good book recommendations?

Stick Figure: A Diary of my former self by Lori Gottlieb
Espresso Tales: A 44 Scotland Street Novel by Alexander McCall Smith
Simply from Scratch By Alicia Bessette
History of Love: A Novel by Nicole Krauss
The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity by William P. Young
Insatiable by Meg Cabot
Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner
A Homemade life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg
Love Over Scotland: A 44 Scotland Street Novel by Alexander McCall Smith
The Unbearable Lightness of Scones: A 44 Scotland Street Novel by Alexander McCall Smith
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
The Girl who Played with Fire by Stieg Larrson
The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest by Stieg Larrson
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse, Book 11) by Charlaine Harris
Alone in the Classroom by Elizabeth Hay
The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond
The Snowman: A Harry Hole Novel by Jo Nesbo
Irma Voth by Miriam Toews
Darkness on the Edge of Town by J. Carson Black
Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares
Sister: A novel by Rosamund Lupton
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
On the Outside Look Indian: How Second Childhood Changed My Life by Rupinder Gill
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Start Something that Matters by Blake Mycoskie
The Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Little Women by Louisa M. Alcott
Before I Go to Sleep by S.J Watson


Wednesday, February 1, 2012

I think this good place to start. I figured if I put this list out into the Universe it will give me the push I need to get these projects done. Wish me luck!

Things to finish

  • Messenger bag for myself- this is a good everyday go to messenger bag. I made a few small adjustments to the pattern and I love it. 
  • Jersey Skirt. I bought some blue knit fabric on mega sale at Fabricland. I think that I am going to make a simple Jersey skirt for the summer. 
  • Quilt one
  • My Quilt - I have had some amazing fabric that I bought so I could make myself a quilt. It has been pushed back so I could work on other projects for people.  One of my goals is also to finish some sewing projects just for myself.
  • Pillows