Time Saving Meal Prep Stratagies-Part 1

Recipe Card Printable & Homemade Marshmallows

Today over at The Graphics Fairy they have some adorable Recipe Card printables that would make a great low cost gift for Mother's Day!

I made homemade Marshmallows today for the first time and I really messed it up... my chocolate I was melting seized right before I needed to fold it into the marshmallow mixture but I went ahead anyway.... the pan of poured marshmallow mixture is currently chilling in the fridge, and I am sure there will be big chunks of chocolate in it... oh well! I've got more plain gelatin to try again and plenty of sugar and corn syrup to try again... next time I think I will try Lemon or Strawberry!


Click here for the Recipe Cards

Here are my finished Marshmallows! The recipe came from the What She's Having Blog
These are to die for even with my big chunks of chocolate screw up!

Chocolate Marshmallows
(makes approx 36 marshmallows)

• 2 tablespoons gelatin
• 2/3 cup water
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup clear corn syrup
• 4 oz dark chocolate, melted
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder

1. Line an 8 by 8 inch pan with plastic wrap and lightly grease the plastic.
2. In a small sauce pan, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let the gelatin expand. Add the sugar to the pan and gently heat while stirring until the sugar has dissolved completely.
3. Pour the sugar and gelatin mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the corn syrup and then beat for 10 to 12 minutes until the mixture forms stiff peaks. Stir in the chocolate using a spatula to mix.
4. Pour into the prepared pan spreading with a greased spatula. Refrigerate for about 1 hour until well set.
5. Cover a work area with half the cocoa powder. Unmold the marshmallow onto the cocoa powder, then cut into squares using scissors or a pizza cutter. Cover each square with the remaining cocoa powder.
6. Keep in a well sealed container at room temperature for 3-4 days. (if they make it that long)

The Naughty List

Yesterday morning my 6 year old asked me with big sad eyes if he was on the Naughty List. I was horrified but not at all surprised. He gets a red frowny face daily from his Kindergarten teacher on his behavior chart. When he gets off the bus in the afternoon I greet him with a smile and ask him if he had fun today. He heaves a care laden sigh and tells me no.  I intensely

dislike my 6 year old son's Teacher's disiciine methods. She rules with an iron fist. No infraction seems to small. His grades are fine, she says, he is extremely smart, she says, but he has trouble staying in his seat. He talks in between classes. He is too social. ( Hello, he just barely turned 6!) He knows everyone's name and makes a point to say hello and goodbye each day. He tries to help his classmates that are having difficultly during computer time, and he isn't supposed to do that. My gregarious, smart, helpful, kind hearted son is having all the joy sucked out of him on a daily basis  because he is not a robot and I hate it, but I really don't l feel up to homeschooling him. He is a handful, requires constant planned activities and never takes naps unless he is ill. My fibromyalgia has be napping everyday when he is in school. So, how do I help my child without sending the household into chaos, damaging my health, and preventing my sweet baby boy from learning to hate school?

Spring Break-Day One

Hubby is in bed with Pneumonia,  and the boys are all fighting. By fighting I mean the 2 younger boys are being puss buckets and my soon to be 18 year old keeps telling them to shut up. Because I had stocked up on snacks and easy meal fixings and I would not let the kids eat the tortilla chips yesterday, the 5 year old started asking me if I could make nachos at 9:30 am. FOR BREAKFAST. If I close my eyes I can hear my Mom telling me and my siblings to go outside to play and she would call us when lunch was ready. I recall peeing in the woods out back rather then risk going back into the house and interrupting Mom's peace and quiet. Only I can't just send my younger kids out to play without adult supervison. They will either get kidnapped, run over, or a neighbor will call Child Protective Services. At the rate we are going we will be eating lunch by 11:30 and dinner by 2pm. If they would then got to bed by 3pm that would work for me. Except they won't. Nope. Because my kids are part Hobbit. The want Second Breakfast, Eleven's, Lunch, Afternoon Tea, Dinner, Appetizers, Supper, Dessert, TV Snack, b

Before bed snack....

My husband slipped out on an IT job a few minutes ago dragging afore mentioned almost 18 year old with him. Knowing my hubby as I do, he will call before he comes home, asking if I need him to pick up anything at the store. Paper plates, I will tell him, and Valium.

"Faux Enchiladas"

The finished Pan fresh out of the oven!

I cook most things from scratch because for the most part, it's cheaper and healthier. But even I, Queen of the Kitchen have my off days where I am too tired or pressed for time, and this meal is a GLORIOUS CHEAT for those who don't really like cooking and need to bring something to a Potluck. I call them "Faux Enchiladas."
This is the large version for Potlucks, halve the recipe for a family dinner..remember my family has 6 people if you are still thinking half the recipe seems overly large.


THE RECIPE


2 packages of frozen Burrittos(8 per package)
1 Family sized can of Cream of Chicken soup or about 3 regular sized ones
1 Pint of Sour Cream
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 TBSP chili powder (this is to taste, so try using less and taste, add more if needed)
8-10 drops of natural liquid smoke
2-3 cups of shredded Cheddar, Jack or Colby cheese


Preheat the oven to 350°.  Spray a disposable Foil Pan with non-stick cooking spray-the 20 x 10" size will work well. In a large bowl combine Soup, Sour Cream, Garlic Powder, Chili Powder, and Liquid Smoke. Spread about 1 1/2 Cups of this mixture on the bottom of the pan. Take the frozen burrittos, line them up in the pan, and pour remaining soup mixture over burrittos and smooth out with a spatula to fill in the gaps. Place pan on a center rack and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes until sauce is bubbly. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top and return the pan to the oven for an additional 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted and starting to brown.  Remove from oven and serve! Yum! Yum! 

One "Faux Enchilada" ready to eat!

Deal Alert! New 6th Generation Ipod Nano for $119!

I am an avid bargain hunter, and when I want something I am willing to wait until I can find a great deal. I have been lusting after the Nano for a while, and though I still can't afford to buy it, this is such a great deal and quantities are limited so I am passing along the savings! The color is PINK, but it is only $119 with free shipping! This is anew, never opened, 6th generation Nano, much lighter and thinner then the previous models, a great Valentine's Day gift for the Gal who likes to walk or run and listen to their tunes.. No I am not getting any money out of this, I just thought it was an amazing deal!




Go to Auction!

What I do with old languishing Patterned Scrapbook Paper

 I confess I have a serious weakness for patterned Scrapbook Paper! When Hobby Lobby has their papers on sale for 50% off and I am there will bells on, drool running down my chin, desperately trying not to spend our food and gas budget or give my husband a stroke.
Some of the Papers I have are now 7 years old and out of style, or I just don't really care for the pattern anymore, but I found a way to use them in the packaging of my handmade soaps.

I try to stick to a color theme for each type of soap, like greens for Rosemary Mint, earthy shades for my Oatmeal and Goat Milk Soaps, and shades of purple for the Lavender. People really seem to respond to this form of packaging, simply because I fold the colorful paper the same way you would wrap a present....and that is what it is like to unwrap, opening a present!

Photography gets REVOLUTIONARY with the New Fracture

All my friends know I am the Freebie Queen, and my friends at Twitter Mom's have posted an opportunity for Mom Bloggers to recieve the New Fracture(see below for production description) in return for reviewing the product on your blog! I love to take pictures, and this looks so COOL! You should know “I wrote this blog post in response to a TwitterMoms RAMBO alert, making me eligible to get a Fracture picture frame for review. You can learn more about Fracture at http://www.fractureme.com.” 

"Fracture's introductory product lets you print your digital pictures right onto glass!  There's no paper, film or anything involved.  Simply ink and glass.  We have effectively combined printing, framing, and mounting into one simple process.  You upload your photo to FractureMe.com, we print it on glass, and send it on it's way with everything you need to mount and display. It's a one-stop, complete photo decor solution!

Fractures are very safe: all sharp edges are removed, and they are completely okay to touch and handle.  

Fractures are durable: the prints are shatter proof (unlike traditional glass frames), and the images will not fade for years beyond average prints.

Fractures are very practical and elegant: you can use them for any occasion, from Christmas and graduation gifts, to simple "Thank You's".  

Fractures are for everyone: from avid photographers to snap happy point-and-shoot lovers, anyone can get Fractured!"

If I receive one of these I will not only review it, I will post pictures of all my projects!

Finally! Finished Birthday Card!

I was given a very generous sample of assorted Glue Dots
by TwitterMom's and did some more digging to find the velvet Ribbon and The Chipboard letter I used to finish this card.
I had never used the Glue Dot in a runner before, and that was so handy to just run it along on the paper where I wanted the dots instead of applying each dot individually! I had also never tried the Re-positional Glue Dots before, mighty handy when you attach an embellishment and realize it is not on straight! (That NEVER happens to me, but, you know, I thought for other people.....HAHA!)
I have to say I definately prefer the Glue Dots over a Glue Pen, since you have to wait for the glue from the pen to dry before it "Sticks" and the Glue Dots stick immediately. Gotta love that instant gratification! I plan on making a bunch of easily customizable Birthday cards on hand in the future so I can quickly customize it for the Birthday Recipient and have the card in their hands in a more timely fashion. WE have a lot of craft projects to do this summer, and I feel much safer putting the Glue Dots into the hands of my kiddoes then a tube of Elmer's...Mom's you KNOW why! Happy Bonding!

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Glue Dots blogging contest to be eligible to receive a $30 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.” 

To enter this Blogging Contest visit Twitter Mom's:
http://www.twittermoms.com/forum/topics/2000-in-prizes-up-for-grabs

Go check out The Glue Dots Fan Page and see more Cool Projects!
http://www.facebook.com/GlueDotsFans




Easy Summer Project IdeasFun Summer Project Activities

Unfinished Cards...Ba-Ba-Ba-Bling!

It feels so good to be back in the saddle again! I have been playing with my Sizzix Big shot and making some Birthday Cards. The Butterflies you see were cut with a 2 x 2 Quickutz die from Glittered Paper by My Mind's Eye(My FAVORITE line of Scrapbooking papers!) The Rhinestones were just ones I bought on EBay, no idea who the manufactorer is. I bought them for my Hot Fix Rhinestone Setter no realizing I had gotten confused and bought ones that were NOT Hot Fix until I tried to load them in the wand and the instantly melted all over it-oops! That was fun trying to get the melted plastic off...                                                                Anyhoo, the Scalloped Circles were cut with

Nestabilities. These dies are so awesome because the same die will both cut and emboss depending on what you layer over it in the Machine, and each set has 5 nesting dies for layering your papers. I have the Large Scalloped Ovals, Circles, Squares and Rectangles. I haven't used them before now because they just did not work well in the Original Sizzix Machine, so I held on to them because I Knew I would be upgrading to the New Machine for my Birthday.                                                                 The Cardstock for both cards is the Bazzill in the criss cross pattern. I love it because it looks so cool when you chalk or ink the edges!                             The papers for both Cards are retired Foofala-really

sad that they them because I think they are so classic, yet unusual.  The edges of all the pieces or paper and cardstock were all inked/distressed with Colorbox Chalk Ink in Ice Blue and and Petal pink.

I like the Pink card best, and will try to post a picture
when I finish them. I, ahem, an having trouble locating the container that has all my vintage alphabet stickers, because I have a lot of stuff to wade through.  The letters from My Sizzix Lollipop dies set are too big to use on these cards.   I also need to decide which ribbons and other embellishments to finish them.                                                            

I am probably going to make another butterfly in a different color for the blue card, not happy with the yellow one. Happy Crafting!

Leslie's Savory Meatballs

Who doesn't love Spaghetti and Meatballs? I love that it seems like this huge treat for the kids, but is pretty inexpensive to make. My mother always fried her meatballs in a large nonstick skillet but I find it much easier to bake them all off at once-much less labor intensive! I wish this picture was more appetizing, my Sister Amy will tell me they look like COW PIES, but they are really awesome and make FABULOUS Meatball Subs. You can very easily swap out the Grated Parm for a different kind of cheese, and up the amount as well if you like really cheesy Meatballs. MEAT+CHEESE=LOVE!
Recipe
Preheat Oven to 350
1 1/2 lbs ground beef or a combo of ground beef and ground pork
1/2 grated Parmesan Cheese
1 large egg
1 TBSP Honey
1 TBSP Dijon Mustard
2 crushed garlic cloves or 1 scant tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground chili powder
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2  TBSP Terriyaki Sauce
8 drops liquid smoke
1 /12 cups soft bread crumbs(I prefer Wheat)
1 1/2 tsp Dried Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients mix by hand, and and shape into 1 1/2-2 inch balls(You will get about 30 depending on how big you shape yours). Bake on a rimmed baking sheet for approximately 25-30 minutes. Cool slightly and remove to a Paper Towel lined plate and allow fat to drain. Heat approximately 4 cups of Marinara Sauce( about two 28 oz jars) and add meatballs.

"10 Little Things that Lead to a Happier, Healthier You."

"10 Little Things that Lead to a Happier, Healthier You."

I promise you, all these things are based on my personal philosophy and my actual life,
I am trying to walk the talk!

1.      Do not do things that make you feel bad about your self.  If there is a person in your life that constantly belittles you, second guesses you, or encourages you to participate in destructive behavior, give yourself permission to either sever ties or severely limit contact. I once ended a friendship with a woman who's trashy language practically blistered my ears, not to mention made me sick to my stomach to listen to! Everyday she would call me to rant about how it was so unfair that everything bad happened to her, and how she was so sick of drama, when most of the drama in her life was of her own creation as a direct consequence of decisions she had made. When I asked her to watch her language when we where talking she claimed she couldn't comply because “swearing is a form of stress relief.”  It might relieve stress for her, but it was causing it for me, and her extreme neediness was sucking the life out of me. So much so that it was affecting my life and my relationship with my spouse and kids. So I ended it. And as guilty as I felt at first, itwas worth it to have PEACE return to my life. 

2. Do something each and every day that brings you Real Joy. It is up to you to figure out what that is. For me, taking some time to pray, meditate, and write in my journal. For you it might me writing Poetry, chatting with your best friend, or Baking. Afterward I feel calmer and grounded.

3. When you are really down and out, do one thing that is proactive so you can have a sense of accomplishment-Overwhelmed with house work? Take out the trash, do one load of laundry, fold and put away one basket of clothing, wipe down one counter, clean one part of the bathroom. There is a reason the Fly Lady recommends setting a timer and doing one thing for 15 minutes. It's doable! The 15 minute rule will work for MANY things, not just housework.

4. Do not do things that make you CRAZY! For example,  thinking perfect Mom's have NO
 hobbies or life of their own and make everything from scratch! Another example
would be ove extending yourself by committing to too many activities
 in a small block of time. I have a good friend who almost never
 says no and ends up running herself ragged until she is FORCED to cancel
something out of complete exhaustion.  Saying no does not make you a bad person.
 So if you happen to sew really well, but are really busy with a full time job,
 your kid's activities , your volunteer work and your son's teacher
asks you to make all the costumes for the school play and the only way you will
 have time to do it is stay up until 3 am every night-Just say No!

5.      Have a Hobby! Hobbies aren't for being perfect at something, they are for SANITY! I could never understood after I got married why my Mom kept pushing me to pursue some Hobbies. Once the children came along, I totally got it.  I needed something just for ME, that wasn't part of taking care of my Family. I took up both Soapmaking and Scrapbooking. Since I enjoy doing them, my brain releases Dopamine which in turn reinforces the good feelings, and I continue to develop my Creativity. If I have been experiencing that “stuck in a rut” feeling, this is the cure!

6.      Housekeeping-Spend some time every day doing the things you DON'T like so you have time to do the things you DO like., ie: you can't scrapbook at your kitchen table if it is covered with bills, backpacks and other of life's debis.  You can't enjoy a nice family dinner at a sticky table, or find something nice to wear out if all your clothes are in a dirty pile in from of the washing machine.

7. Take care of your physical Body-it's the only one you have and you depend on your health to be able to function. I have both Diabetes and Fibromyalgia. If I do not take my medications and vitamin suppliments, I feel awful and I can't function.  If I do not eat properly for a diabetic, control my blood sugar, and exercise regularly, the consequence of that will be that my Physical body will cease to function.
You can't get any more serious then that!

With the Fibromyalgia I have to set limitations on myself, or I will suddenly find myself utterly exhausted and unable to move without pain. I can't stay up until 3 am playing Games on face book, or spend all day doing heavy manual labor.  If I do I know I will be close to bedridden the next day or so.

The price for the experience comes higher then I can afford to pay.  Go to bed on time, wear sunscreen, and consume fresh fruits and vegetables.

8. Take a 10 or 20 minute vacation! I believe Stress Relief is like Perspiration, if you have to do it otherwise you will explode. So, if you can't take a vacation, a day or even a few hours off to have some me time, try a mini-vacation with one of these suggestions:

1.      Take a hot bath with Bath salts and candles

2.      Paint your toenail in a color that makes you smile(mine are usually a frosty purple!)

3.      Give yourself a facial-not only will you feel pampered but soft, glowing skin is a real ego boost!

4.      Get you hair done! Spend the Time and money to get a trim, have color refreshed, or highlights added. You do not need me to tell you when your hair looks good, you feel good.

Like the famous hair color commercial says, “You're Worth it!”

9.      Read a Book strictly for pleasure! One of my older female friends once confessed to me she felt so relieved a particular book had been selected for our Book Club so she did not have to feel guilty for reading something so frivolous when she had such a long list of more serious, political or religious minded tomes to consume.  While I think it is GREAT that my friend is dedicated to continuing to be edified, and keeping up with politics as part of her civic duty. There is something to be
said for Novels. One can hardly can Pride and Prejudice frivolous, and yet it is most
certainly a Novel, the reading of which tends to lead to day dreaming and the firing of
 the imagination.  Instead of running errands on your lunch, at least one day a week,
sit with a great Read while you munch, and escape into another world....just remember
to come back before your boss or you kids have to come looking for you.

10.   Buy yourself Flowers! Don't wait for someone else to send you flowers, pick up an inexpensive but pretty bouquet to place on your desk or area of the house you spend a lot of time in(where it will be in your line of sight most of the day) and put them in a real vase.  A bunch of flowers can be had as cheaply as $4 at our local Supermarket, and most flowers can be kept looking fresh for at least a week.  Studies have been done that show flowers have a mood lifting effect. Of all the things God created, I think flowers are literally eye candy made specifically to gladden the eye and lift the spirit. It is a great gift!

 I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Tropicana Trop50 blogging program to be eligible to win 6 free Juicy Rewards points and a $30 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

To read more about this blogging Contest, go to :

http://www.twittermoms.com/forum/topics/share-10-little-things-that?utm_source=Twittermoms+Member+Newsletter&utm_campaign=b6781edf35-Trop50_Newsletter&utm_medium=email

Here is an exclusive code TWMOM-READR (worth one Juicy Rewards point – that’s up to $5 in savings) for the Tropicana Juicy Rewards Program. This one-time use code is valid for new accounts ONLY. Must be entered within 6 hours of creating your account. Limit one new account bonus code per new account. All accounts must be created and all codes entered by May 7, 2010 at 11:59 PM EST.

Trop50 Little Things for Happy, Healthy Living1000 Little Things for Moms from Trop50

Trop50 Little Things for Happy, Healthy Living





1000 Little Things for Moms from Trop50

Free Online 2 Week Course in Pressure Canning!

.Right now Crystal from Everyday Food Storage is offering a FREE 2 week online course in Pressure Cooking and some info on Pressure Canning. Canning of any kind has become an almost lost art, along with knitting and quilting. Even if you don't NEED to can your own food, it is wiser to have the skill and not have to use it, then need it and not know how!  I love this Gal's website! It is truly educational and takes the "boring" out of food storage...I highly recommend bookmarking the URL because she is constantly adding new info, that is useful and easy to understand.

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/

Pizza Muffin Cups Anybody?

I woke up with a cold a few days ago and as I have diabetes and Fibromyalgia I have to work really hard from keeping these things from turning into Bronchitis or a Sinus Infection, so not much cook going on at the Townsend's this week. I was too exhausted to go grocery shopping last night, so there is a decided lack of quick and easy things in the fridge.  I did find some refrigerator biscuits my husband bought-I think they are kind of gross as I like to only use real butter when I make baked goods but they provided me with a shortcut for lunch for my rascals.  I took some hamburger from the freezer and nuked that in the microwave so it wasn't rock hard and browned it well. After draining off all the fat, I added jarred spaghetti sauce, a fed drops of liquid smoke, Italian seasoning, and grated cheddar cheese.

In greased muffin tins, press an uncooked biscuit into each cup, into the bottom and up the sides. Fill cup with meat mixture, top with more  cheese if you have it, and bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. My kids INHALED them! They would have been equally as good if I had used BBQ sauce, half pork sausage, or gone with diced chicken, broccoli, cream cheese and garlic! It is not gourmet, but it definitely was a crowd pleaser, and some days you can ask for more then that!

Liquid Smoke the Magical Culinary Elixir

I absolutely LOVE the taste of smoked, grilled, and barbecued food, but I do not love slaving over a hot grill and frankly the idea of standing outside in 90+ degree weather overseeing the searing and roasting of slabs of meat(YUM!) when the inside of my house is comfortably cool(all hail the inventor of the A/C!) is less then thrilling. I hate to sweat. Period. And let's face it, it is 90+ degrees in Southern Texas about 8 months out of the year. Yeah, this means I do not spend a lot of time out of doors. My husband Matt has wanted to take me camping since we first got married...and that was 17 years ago(it's not looking too good for you on that front dear!) But I digress! One of the wonderful things I love about Texas is the HUGE selection of Salsas, BBQ sauces, Meat Marinades, and my personal favorite: Liquid Smoke! I started out just adding it to things like the hamburger for tacos or Goulash(for you Yankees this is what you would call American Chop Suey) but I have since expanded that to pretty much any meat dish, Soups, and even dips! I find it can also pleasantly change the taste of foods my children would normally turn their nose up at, like the tomato and beef stock based soup I made for lunch and added some frozen zuchini I needed to use up and some chickpeas. Once it was heated through I used my handy Braun Immersion Blender and pureed it as smooth as I could. Then I added about 2 T of grated Romano and about 10 drops of liquid smoke. The kids never saw me making the soup so they had NO CLUE about all the hidden fiber in there and they LOVED it!

Now I know you are all just leaning forward in your computer chairs saying, "Hello? Get to the recipe will ya? Ok, here is a fantastic Dip I made for a Church Dinner that went over so well people demanded the recipe.

*Please note some of the measurements have some leeway to allow for personal taste. Obviously, if you dislike Thyme, but love Rosemary, that would be a great substitution. Also if you are not a big fan of Roasted Garlic(Is that even possible?) Carmelized Onions would be great in this dip! If you don't care for olives, why not try some chopped sundried tomatoes?

Roasted Garlic and Olive Dip

2 blocks of Cream Cheese-room temp

1 16 oz contanier of full fat Sour Cream

4 cloves roasted Garlic(you can use garlic powder in a pinch but it's not as good)

1/4 tsp or more Coursely ground black pepper

1 tsp kosher salt

1/4 to 1/2 tsp dried Thyme leaves

6-8 drops Liquid Smoke

1 1/2 cups black olives

In a food processor pulse together cream cheese, sour cream, roasted garlic(minus the skins,) kosher salt, black pepper, Thyme and liquid smoke until well blended. Sample to test for seasoning levels, and when ready add the olives and pulse in short bursts until the olives or roughly chopped and distributed evenly in the dip. Refrigerate for 2-4 hours to allow the flavor to develop and serve with raw veggies and sturdy crackers like Melba Toast.

Chocolate, Cranberries and Orange, O My!

Who knew Scones could be so sexy? I have a girlfriend that turned 45 this week. She is a working mom who is so stressed out and over scheduled when someone wished her a Happy Birthday she stared at them blankly insisting it wasn't her Birthday, until she realized it was! First of all, SHAME ON YOU CLAY! For not being the first one to wish your beautiful wife a Happy Birthday! Secondly, WHOA! If you are a woman turning 45, you deserve Chocolate! Seriously, it's an official rule!

So I had been taking a looky-Loo at Scone recipes recently and bought some cream just for that purpose, I decided to make Chocolate Chip Scones with dried cranberries and Orange Zest for a bit of pop.

I made a double batch because I have a meeting tonite at church, and I also used my tiny biscuit cutter so they were small enough for a person to eat in 2-3 bites.

Here's the adapted recipe I used"

2 cups regular white flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 TBSP baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup whipping or heavy cream-very cold

8 TBSP very cold butter cut into chunks

Approximmately 1 TBSP grated Orange zest

1 cup chocolate chips

3/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 of chopped macadameia nuts

In food processor, pulse together flour, salt and baking powder. Add Orange Zest and Pulse a few seconds. Add in chilled butter pieces, and pulse intermitantly until butter pieces are pea sized. Remove from food processor and toss quickly with nuts, chocolate chips and dried cranberries. Gently stir in chilled Cream, adding a bit more cream if dough seems too dry, less it if seems very wet. Today my batter needed less(weather?) Chill dough in freezer for at least 10 minutes(becareful, too long and it will freeze and you will have to wait for it to thaw.)

Roll out dough to about 3/4 inch thickness and cut into triangles or use a biscuit cutter. I got about 40 mini's from my double batch. Sand tops with sugar and place on parchment lined or greased baking sheet and chill in freezer for another 10 minutes. Place baking sheet in 400 degree oven for approximately 10 minutes. They should look light golden brown on top. Best consumed the same day or stored in an airtight container.

Ok, let me just say these were SOOOOOOOOOO good! My kids got to test them and they were so ripped when I said only one sample per person-MEAN MOMMY!

(heh-heh!)

The combination of the Choclate with the Orange, cranberries and nuts was PERFECT. Please let me know if you try these how you liked them.

Hugs and Fresh Baked Goods,

Leslie

My new favorite Food Website is tastespotting.com

They post all the latest and best from foodie blogs with eyewatering pictures that make you want to run to the kitchen and start cooking. Today that fist thing that caught me eye is an article about crumpets, how they differ from english muffins, and a recipe! This is exactly the sort of thing I have always wondered about, and frankly I will be just fine without knowning, but it's just so much more interesting then not knowing, ya know?

Hers's the link to the blog with the Crumpters article:

http://oneperfectbite.blogspot.com/2010/02/crumpets.html

Enjoy!

After I got home from the hospital Mara's long hair got so many tangles in it that tons of conditioner would't get out so I had to cut it first and then I was able to get them out. Her dad hates it but I think she looks ADORABLE!!!
Now I want to get my hair cut, i need a change!!!