Chocolate chip cookies

This recipe is from All recipe which you can find here.  These go together very quickly and you can adapt it to you liking.  My son in law does not like raisins so I always have to make a dozen or so for him so you can see I added raisins to part of the batch I also added a new finely ground walnuts.  I will be making this recipe again and will double it and freeze the dough as you see it in the picture that way I will have a stash if I need a quick little dessert for company.  Tomorrow a 5 grain bread...yummy. Hope everyone has a wonderful week and remember Find the Time to do the Things you LOVE.
hugs,
Donna

Strawberry Scones

This is such and easy recipe and is so tasty.  I've read also that it freezes well.  You can also substitute whatever fruit or combo you would like.

I found this recipe at this blog.  She has some yummy things so please do take the time to look around.


printable recipe
Strawberry Scones
(makes 6 large scones or 12 minis)

1 cup strawberries (or other fruit)
3 tablespoons sugar (granulated)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, in cubes, slightly softened
2/3 cup half-and-half or cream or cold buttermilk

Topping:
1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.

If using larger fruit, cut into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle fruit with 1/2 tablespoon sugar; set aside. Be sure to make the pieces small, or they tend to fall out of the dough. They'll still be plenty prominent in your finished scones.

Combine remaining sugar with flour, baking powder and salt. Add butter, using a pastry cutter or 2 knives to cut in butter (you may want to use your fingers to be sure butter is evenly mixed into flour). Stir in fruit; then add cream/half-and-half/buttermilk all at once. Use spatula to gently stir dough until it holds together.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to incorporate dry ingredients. Be gentle so you don't break up the berries and don't overwork the dough. Sprinkle dough with flour if it gets sticky.

Press (pat) the dough into a circle 3/4 inch thick. If any berries peek out, push them into dough. Cut circle into 6-8 wedges, then transfer wedges to the cookie sheet, leaving at least 1/2 inch of space between them. Bake 15 minutes.

   

Sure hope you try these, quick easy recipe that is sure to impress your family and guests.

Till next time, Remember Find the Time to do WHAT YOU LOVE.

hugs,

Donna

A yummy dinner Idea

 This is a wonderful recipe and a delicious dinner I idea.  My family loved it.  I made one loaf with Italian meatballs, peppers and onions and the other with a combo of sweet, mild and hot Italian sausage, peppers and onions.  Hard to decide which was the best.  Serve this is with a nice salad and a glass a wine if you like and everyone will be happy.
I really wish I would remember where I found this wonderful recipe.  When I do I will do an added mote to that I give credit where credit is due.  I think this is the site ......  Here is a link I found with wonderful pictures

Stuffed Tuscany Tomato Basil Bread


Think pizza in a loaf.  You can stuff this attractive braided bread with almost anything that you would put on a pizza.  



You can use your favorite plain white bread recipe.  If you are making this bread from a recipe, use a two loaf recipe and mix according to directions.  Add two tablespoon dried crushed basil during the mixing.  Place the bread dough in an oiled bowl, turn once, and cover to let rise until doubled.   I used this recipe.  A nice Italian no knead bread would be good also.

Use the following recipe for the filling.   Stuffed bread recipes lend themselves to customization so add or substitute ingredients according to your taste.
Printable Recipe
Stuffed Tuscany Tomato Basil Bread Filling (for two loaves)

1 cup sliced sun dried tomatoes (one packet if you are using our mix)
1 six ounce can of pitted black olives, drained and chopped or 1/2 pound Italian sausage, sauteed
1/2 medium sized onion, diced or 1/2 red or green bell pepper, diced
1/2 tablespoon crushed oregano, Italian seasonings, or other seasonings of choice
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons grated cheese for topping

Directions:

Grease a baking sheet and sprinkle it with cornmeal or semolina flour.

1. Place the dried tomatoes in a bowl with barely enough water to cover.  Cover with plastic and microwave for one minute on high heat.  Let the tomatoes steep in the hot water for several minutes.  Drain the tomatoes and pat dry with a paper towel.
2. Mix all the filling ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Once the dough has risen, divide it into two equal parts for two loaves.  Roll one part into a rectangle about 12 inches by 15 inches.  Slice the dough into one inch wide fringed ribbons as shown in the picture leaving the center one-third unsliced.  Make sure there is an equal number of slices on each side.  Place half the filling on the dough center.  Fold up the bottom edge one inch and then beginning folding the ribbons over the filling, lapping them alternately as shown.  When you near the top, fold the top one inch down along with two of the ribbon pieces.  Finish folding over the ribbon pieces.  Cup the ends of the loaf in your palms and compress the loaf into an oblong, well-shaped loaf.  Put the loaf on the prepared pan, and cover with plastic wrap.  Repeat with the other loaf.  Let the loaves rise until doubled, about an hour in a warm kitchen.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
5. Whisk one egg with one tablespoon water.  Just before baking, brush the top of the loaves with the egg wash.
6. Bake for thirty minutes or until done.  As soon as you remove the bread from the oven, sprinkle the tops with the remaining grated cheese so that it will partially melt on the loaves.  If need be, return the loaves to the oven for a minute.  Cool the bread on wire racks.

Serve hot.  Refrigerate any leftovers.  This bread can also be frozen.
Hope you will try this one, it's well worth the work.

Have a wonderful evening.
hugs,
Donna

Bagels

I love bagels and happen to catch an old Julia Child show with Lauren Groveman and her wonderful recipe for bagels.  You can find her blog here. Along with the recipe and full instructions.  My first attempt with these was not so good.  I over boiled the dough and ewwwwwwwwww some of the inside was icky.  So today I tried again and I also found that this recipe makes a brotchen.  Yes that's right a brotchen.  I have been searching and searching for a recipe for them and have tried several and they did not taste like the real thing but today with a small change in the wash I now have a duel recipe.  Thank you so much Lauren.   Instead of using the egg white was I used plain water and it gave the top crust a wonderful crunch and crumb.  These are wonderful Bagels..I've tried them plain with butter, yum....toasted with cream cheese, yum.. and the one that was plain I made a sandwich and boy it was like I was back in Germany....HEAVEN!  That one tasted just like the Brotchen I remember.  So I would say that the boiling of the risen dough and the water wash did the trick.  I will try these again and will shape them into a roll for sandwiches.

Here they are before their water bath on the right .   And the one

below is one with sesame seeds. And the other picture with all of them.

 

This was my baking for the today (I also made white bread for my grandson but that will be another post soon.  Not sure what I will do tomorrow so guess we'll all be surprised.  LOL

Have a wonderful day and remember to FIND the TIME to do what you love.

hugs,

Donna

PS I keep forgetting to plug my other blog.  I also do paper crafts and have a blog for those things.  If you want to pop over and visit me there here is the link.  I am working on changing the look over there so please bear with me, all this is new to me.  My friend Barb is the one that originally set up the other blog and she now is a Stamin Up demo, and you must visit her blog she has such great idea's and inspiration. 

Hi Everyone

Well this is my baking, cooking and whatever I feel like blog.  I am recently retired and have taken up baking breads and any new interesting recipes.  I have found some really wonderful food blogs out there and when I figure out how to do all of this I will put a list of some of the favorite places I like to visit.

Today I am posting a Banana, chocolate, almond muffin.  This is a recipe from good Ole Betty Crocker.  I added the chocolate chips and finely chopped almonds.  My grandsons love anything with chocolate in it so why not Banana Muffins.  My family really loves the fact that I am home all the time now and that I bake often....so do some of the neighbors and my good friends.  You see I give most of what I make away otherwise I would be 500 lbs.  LOL    My oldest grandson told me after the first week, "Well Mammy you're officially a grandma!"  I always baked when my children were small and I was a stay at home Mom but as we all know our lives get busy and we barely have enough time to sleep.  You can use this recipe for blueberries or whatever fruit you might like to try.  If you do you need to increase the milk to 1 cup and the fruit would be 1 cup.  (unless it has the consistency of ripe banana's.

Ingredents:

1/3 cup milk                  
1/4 cup veg. oil                                                                                                    
1/2 tsp. vanilla            
1 large egg                                                                                                          
  2 cups all-purpose  *or whole wheat flour (I used white)                                                                                 1/3 cp sugar                
3 tsp. baking powder                                                                                            
1/2 tsp salt                  
2 mashed banana's

1/2 cup (or amount you want to add) of chocolate chips

you can also add finely ground nuts

topping:

2 TBL firm butter or margarine (I used butter)

1/4 cp all purpose flour

2 TBL. packed brown sugar

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 TBL firm butter or stick margarine (I used butter)

1.  Heat oven to 400, grease bottoms only of 12 medium or 6 large muffin cups or use paper baking cups.

2.  Make Streusel Topping, set  aside.

3.  Beat milk, oil and eggs in large bowl with fork or wire wisk, stir in flour, sugar, baking powder and salt all   at once just until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy).  Fold in banana and mix till all blended.  Pour into cups and then top with Streusel topping. (about 1 TBL each).

4.  Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  If baked in breaded pan, let stand about 5 minutes in pan, then remove to wire rack
printable version

Here are my muffins, which I might add didn't last long.

                                                   When I figure out how to do the printable version I will do that also.                                               
Hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday.

I'll be back with my bagels.  For now Find the Time to do what you love.

hugs,

Donna

                                                                                                  =

Hi everyone

I've decided to give a try to this blog stuff.  I have lots of things to post from pictures of the grandkids, projects I've been working on.  My new passion bread making, baking and trying new recipes.  Since I have been able to stay home...which I must add ....I love it!  I get up when I want, get dressed..... if I want, eat when I want and just plain ole do whatever my little heart desires. 

There are days I craft, make cards, print pictures for scrapbooking or bake.  I will be trying another new recipe which I will share when I make it.  It's a muffin recipe.

Here is the Rye bread with caraway seeds that I made for Easter Dinner.  Wow was it good.   You can find the recipe for this easy no knead bread here.   He has great pictures and step by step instructions.  So you can tell from the Easter Comment that is has taken me a while to get things going and figure out how to do this blog thing.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday.  I will be having friends over for dinner.  We're having Parmesan Crusted Talapia, coleslaw, broccoli,  and a new bread recipe.....Pumpernickel Bread (which I might add has been a real pain since we are having rain the dough is very sticky)  I better go get a picture before I bake it.  May post some pictures of the meal and my friends.

bye for now

hugs,

Donna
PS I'm back and it's now Tuesday June 15, 2010 and I've done some cyber searching and found out how to do the printable recipes so here it is for this bread
printable recipe