Tag Archives: Sweets

3 Day Quote Challenge (3)

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Day 3 of the 3-Day Quote Challenge!

(sorry I did not keep the 3 consecutive days in a row for quotes…life got in the way, but here is my final quote)

There are so many amazing quotes that inspire us and challenge us to live better and become better people. However,since I wanted to have all my quotes about food, it was a bit limiting.

As I read this quote it makes me remember that food prepared with love just makes others feel good.  It can inspire us, lift our spirits and turn a meeting into a party!  Julia Child always got it right!

Enjoy your day!

julia child 2Here are my 3 nominations today:

Mrs. Twinkle

The Road Trip Cowgirl

Nourished Peach

Help Down the Rabbit Hole

Peanut Butter and Chocolate!

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I am not a big chocolate fan…but I do love chocolate and peanut butter!  In fact, these peanut butter balls are one of my favorite things to make.  I usually only make these treats at Christmas, but I had an opportunity to work with a friend who is a wonderful baker.  She needed 600 peanut butter balls for a 40th birthday surprise.  Wow!

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Thankfully she only needed me to make 200!  I was happy to help her and glad that it was something I have made many times…it’s so much easier when I know what I’m doing!

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Find the recipe here for Peanut Butter Balls. Enjoy!

25 Reasons we love Hannah

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APRIL just flew by for me!  It is a month of celebrations in our home.  My husband, daughter, best friend and anniversary are all celebrated in this lovely month.

My daughter turned 25 this year.  Happy Birthday, Hannah!  My family thought of things we each love about Hannah and had a friend of mine (who is my “go to” for graphics) design this for me.  I thought it turned out so cute!

I framed this for my daughter as one of her gifts.  I hope this always reminds her that she is special and unique, loved by her family and a precious young woman that has an amazing journey ahead of her!!  We love you, Hannah!

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Hannah’s Birthday Cake

I have teased my daughter that she is “practically perfect in every way”, since she was a small child. So this “Mary Poppins” cake was perfect for her!

Love this Mary Poppins quote for my office. "In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun.":

 

 

 

Since she had this poster hanging on her wall the first year of teaching,  it seemed appropriate for me to run with this theme!  Happy Birthday Hannah!

I don’t think 25 is too old for Mary Poppins…do you?

 

 

One Cupcake goes a long way

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One Cupcake can say a lot of things:
I am thinking of you
You are sweet
We are friends
You are worth it
I care about you
and last but not least…Happy Birthday!

One of my most precious friends has a birthday in April. She is so kind and always willing to taste my sweet creations and give me her honest opinion…too dense, too sweet, not sweet enough, etc. I love her feedback and trust her palate!! I asked her what type of cupcake she would like for her special day and she requested Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes.

I had made these previously and really liked them, so I was happy when she chose this flavor cupcake.  My husband was too!

This little cupcake says so much more than Happy Birthday.  It says “you are special” and “I am glad we are friends”.

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One last thing…does anyone else out there have a kitchen that looks like this while you are baking or is it just me???

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Creative Blogger Award

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I am sending out a big thank you to Taylor at  Peas Romaine Calm for nominating me for the Creative Blogger Award. I love Taylor’s blog!  It is so cute and creative and her photos are amazing.  I love all her little graphic designs on her photos.

Here are my five nominations for the Creative Blogger Award.
It was hard to choose only five as there are so many wonderful blogs I come across and enjoy reading.

~Carolina at Cisneros Cafe.  I love her faith based blog and her encouraging words she shares with others.  Check it out for some daily encouragement.
~Hannah at Love the Little Bakery.  She loves to bake, she is messy in the kitchen and wants to travel.  Her blog is so cute!
~Wee Blue Mixer.  What a cute blog!  She lives in a cottage in Scotland (how cool is that)? She shares lots of wonderful recipes and amazing photos.
~Leen Cuisine.  She is so creative.  She is obsessed with recipes from her family and is cooking through all of them!
~This Happy Mommy.  I love all her photos and her healthy recipes.  Everything looks amazing.  Plus she is a new mommy.  How exciting!

RULES:

  1. Thank the person who nominated you and include a link to their blog.
  2. Share five facts about yourself.
  3. Nominate 5 bloggers and add their links.
  4. Notify the bloggers you included.
  5. Keep the rules in your post.

5 Facts About Me:

  1.  I am a Native Texan!
  2. I love NYC and would go visit every year if I could.
  3. I love to brighten someone’s day with a baked treat, wrapped in cellophane with lots of ribbon!  It  just makes me smile. (and hopefully makes them smile)
  4. I love God, my 3 girls and wonderful husband!
  5. Breakfast Tacos are one of my favorite things to eat. I eat one at a local favorite restaurant at least once a week, or twice.  Okay, maybe even three times!  YUMMY!

Thanks again Taylor for nominating me and love reading your blog!

Chocolate Birthday Pie!

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It is my hubby’s birthday today.  Happy Birthday!

I asked him what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday this year.  Instead of cake, he wanted a pie.  His favorite is cherry pie, but we could not find any fresh cherries.  So chocolate pie was second on the list.

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I decided to use a recipe from The Pioneer Woman.

I love my mom’s homemade crust, but after working 9 hours…Pillsbury’s Pie Crust was the obvious choice!

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  I did cook my pie crust a little longer than I needed, but it still was delicious! IMG_3444[1]

I had all my ingredients ready to go and found this recipe was really quite easy.

It calls for bittersweet chocolate.  I used Ghirardelli and chopped fine and added after the pie filling was beginning to thicken. I think this tasted better than using cocoa powder. IMG_3427[1]

 The pie was a huge success, mainly because my hubby loved it!

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 Click here Chocolate Pie for her recipe.  The full link to her recipe can be found there. If you make this, let me know what you think! I have listed some of her cookbooks here for you if you don’t have one already.

      

Bluebonnets in Texas

Posted in 2016 Travel Adventures, Adventures in the Kitchen by

IMG_3050[1]We love our bluebonnets in Texas!  They line the highways.  People line the highways to stop and take a family photo.  In fact, if you are from Texas, you have a family photo in the middle of bluebonnets.  It’s just what we do.

My girls are grown, but we still stop and look at the bluebonnets when we are traveling. This year, I took a picture of my daughter, holding one of my pretzels, in the middle of this field of blue.  I thought it was the right thing to do!  I’m not sure that she felt this way, but she was a good sport.

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I could not resist this photo with the Texas and Aggie flag waiving in the background!  This was one of my Easter pretzels..I wish I had made a bluebonnet pretzel for the photo…maybe next year!

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Chocolate and Sprinkles

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These pretzels are the perfect treat to bring to any party or celebration!  They have that wonderful blend of salty and sweet…and they are so darn cute!

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I needed something to take to a wedding shower for a sweet young girl at work.  Her colors are gold and blush.  When I saw these glittery gold sprinkles I knew just what to bring!

These chocolate covered pretzels are so easy and so quick and better yet…inexpensive!  Like I said, they are really the perfect little treat!

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Give these a try the next time you host a party, need to bring a snack, or just want to drop off to a friend to make them smile!   While this is so basic, I added the recipe, just to share my tips with you on making these adorable treats!

Any occasion is the right occasions for these pretzels!

Valentines
Christmas
Thanksgiving
Halloween
July 4

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

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My favorite Lemon Cookie Recipe!  

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I found this recipe for Lemon Crinkle Cookies last summer at a wonderful food blog,  Cooking Classy.   I  love everything I make from her website, and when I saw these cookies I knew I found another winner!  This is my favorite lemon cookie recipe!  These cookies just make me smile.

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YUMMY!
Next time life gives you lemons…make these delicious Lemon Crinkle Cookies!

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Irish Soda Bread

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On St. Patrick’s Day, wearing something green is usually as far as I go to celebrate this special day.

I took it one step further this year and made Irish Soda Bread.  This was so easy and delicious served warm…with butter of course!  Find Irish Soda Bread  recipe here.

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I also wanted to make something with the color green.  I made green mint/chocolate chip cookies.  If you like mint, then you will love these.  Same as above…delicious served warm! IMG_2760[1]

!