Celebrate Mardi Gras with these festive Mardi Gras Cupcakes Mardi Gras is just around the corner and although I am not planning on going to New Orleans any time soon, I am planning on living it up right here in my own home with these amazing Mardi Gras Cupcakes! Plus these cupcakes are so beautiful and festive you will probably want to make them more then once a year! Yum! Ingredients: 1 box of white cake mix (plus ingredients called for on the box, i.e. eggs, oil & water) Food coloring in purple, yellow/gold, and green 1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened ¼ cup softened butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon 3 cups confectioners’ sugar Sprinkles Directions: 1. Make cake batter according to box instructions. Evenly divide batter into 3 separate bowls and use food coloring to color 1 bowl purple, 1 green and 1 gold. For bolder colors, use more food coloring. 2. Starting with the purple, place a … [Read more...]
Canned – Spiced Honey Vanilla Peaches!
Spiced Honey Vanilla Peaches I am a sucker for peaches! Recently I found two bushels of peaches at my front door. My Uncle has a Peach Tree in his back yard and this year he had an abundance of peaches that he decided to share with me. I was thrilled! As I was debating what I was going to can with this years peach crop I decided upon Spiced Honey Vanilla Peaches. I had never canned these before but they sounded amazing and I knew that I had to give them a try! Ingredients: 7 lbs peaches peeled and sliced2tbs vanilla extract4 cinnamon sticks1/2 cup white sugar1 cup honey2 cups water Directions: 1. Wash peaches and score an X at bottom of each peach. 2. Blanch peaches 1 minute in boiling water. 3. Immediately place blanched peaches into ice water and let sit for 1 minute. 4. Peel skin from peaches. 5. Slices peaches and remove from seed. 6. In large saucepan bring vanilla, cinnamon, honey, sugar and water to a boil over medium heat. Add … [Read more...]
Simple Homemade Applesauce AND It’s Freezable!
Simple Homemade Applesauce AND It's Freezable! We can now officially say that it is Fall. The leaves are turning and the fall festivities are starting up and my house is smelling of pumpkin spice and cinnamon. I love this season and everything that goes along with it. One of the things I have been doing is making a simple applesauce with my husband's 92 year old great grandmother. She has taught me more about life than I ever have imagined. She has helped form me into the belief that if you can make it yourself then do it because it will save you money and also be much healthier for you as well. I love that our projects we do involve my kids as well. They help take the apple peelings to the compost and helped mash the apples through the sieve. It becomes moments that they will cherish with their great great grandmother more than they realize now at their young age. This is what makes this "more" than easy..it makes this memorable for all. We start off with a simple and … [Read more...]
Canned Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Filling
Canned Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Filling As some of you might remember I scored a great deal on strawberries and rhubarb recently. I had a blast going through recipe ideas to figure out exactly what I should do with all these delicious strawberries and rhubarb. One of the recipes I knew I would be making for sure was the pie filling! I was thrilled to be able to make Canned Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Filling as well as syrup and jelly! My husband is a pie lover. He would choose pie over cake any day and one of is favorite pies is Strawberry Rhubarb. Because of his love for pie I decided to can as much Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Filling as I could. Ingredients: 8 Cups diced strawberries 8 Cups diced rhubarb 6 Cups sugar 1/2 Cup Cornstarch 1 1/2 Cup Flour Directions: 1. Add first three ingredients in large saucepan. 2. Cook on medium heat. Stir often until sugar is dissolved. 3.Add cornstarch and flour. Continue cooking over medium heat until mixture thickens. 4. Pour filling into … [Read more...]
Canned Strawberry Rhubarb Syrup!
Canned Strawberry Rhubarb Syrup Growing up my Grandma always had the biggest garden. Literally it was the same size as my house as a child. Her garden is HUGE! My Grandma grows everything in her garden. For example you can find currents, peas, swiss chard, cucumbers, tomatoes, beets, green beans, squash, pumpkins and more. It is one of the best places on this earth! Every time some one stops by to visit Grandma in the summer the first place they go is the garden. There is nothing like picking fresh peas and eating them right then and there. Yum! Another thing my Grandma grows in her garden is strawberries and rhubarb. Those two things together are amazing and I usually do as much with them as I can. For example this year I canned Strawberry Rhubarb Syrup, Pie Filling and Jelly! Strawberry Rhubarb Syrup is amazing on pancakes! It is not a typical syrup that you might hear about often but it is still one of my all time favorites! Ingredients: 8 cups diced … [Read more...]
Strawberry Nutella French Toast!
Strawberry Nutella French Toast I try my best to make a good breakfast at least one time each week. This is usually on Saturday mornings as it is just about the only time that I can actually get my family together in the mornings. Breakfast is one of my favorite meals to cook and the family time together is priceless. Spending time over breakfast is a great way to start out the day. One of my all time favorite breakfast foods is french toast. Not only do I love to eat french toast but it is also easy to make and there are so many topping options that you can add to french toast! One of my favorite ways to eat french toast is with Nutella, sliced strawberries and powdered sugar. It is a way to really dress up your french toast and who does not love chocolate and strawberries together...Yum! Ingredients: 6 eggs1 cup milkdash cinnamon 12 slices bread Toppings: NutellaSliced StrawberriesPowdered Sugar1. Add eggs,milk and cinnamon together in … [Read more...]
Layered Strawberry Shortcake!
Layered Strawberry Shortcake! Summer time means fresh berries! Oh how I love berries! Especially strawberries! Recently I was in need of a great dessert for a small get-together. As I walked the produce isle I seen the fresh strawberries and instantly knew what I was going to make! Layered Strawberry Shortcake is quick, easy and inexpensive to make! Ingredients: 2 pre-made shortcakes torn into bite sized pieces2 lbs strawberries sliced16 oz whip topping32 oz strawberry pie filling Directions: 1. Layer bottom of bowl with torn pieces of shortcake. 2. Cover layer of shortcake with 1/4 of the strawberry pie filling. 3. Add whipped topping to layer of Strawberry pie filling. 4. Add 1/4 sliced strawberries to layer of whip topping. 5. Start the layers over again until the bowl is filled!! I also have strawberry jam pictured in this photo. You can alternate the jam with the pie filling if you like. I did not use … [Read more...]
Apple Streusel Pancakes!
Apple Streusel Pancakes I have been on the lookout for a great pancake recipe. I never really do anything fun with my pancakes except the occasional handful of fruit being thrown into the batter. This time around I really wanted something over the top! That is exactly what I with this amazing Apple Streusel Pancake recipe! I am also excited because I know these delicious pancakes will make the perfect Easter Breakfast! Ingredients: For the Streusel topping: 1 flour ½ cup brown sugar, packed ½ cup soft butter ½ tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 cup apple sauce 1/4 cup quick oats For the Pancakes: 1 ¼ cup flour 1/2 tsp salt 2 tsp baking powder 3 tbs brown sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1 egg 1 cup vanilla almond milk 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 granny smith apple, peeled and diced Instructions: Add all streusel ingredients to a bowl and mix well. In a large bowl add all dry pancake ingredients and mix until well blended. Next … [Read more...]
Kiwi Avocado Smoothie!
Kiwi Avocado Smoothie! The days are warming up and that means summer time foods! I am so excited to have fresh product to make smoothie's with! There is nothing better to help you start your day then a fresh fruit smoothie. One like the Kiwi Avocado smoothie pictured above! This week I was lucky enough to have avocado's and kiwi's in the house. As I was trying to figure out something amazing to do with them I thought of this Kiwi Avocado Smoothie.....well kiwi's and avocado's are green....and St. Patrick's Day is this weekend so why not? I had never thought about adding avocado's to my smoothie's before but I must admit this was AMAZING! Ingredients: 1 ripe avacado 2 kiwi's peeled juice from 1-2 lime(s) - depending on how much you love lime ;) 1/8 C coconut water/milk 2 TBS honey 2-3 ice cubes 1. Place all ingredients into Magic Bullet and blend until well blended. I know that I will be making this amazing smoothie long after St. Patrick's Day. It … [Read more...]
Delicious Homemade Coconut Bread!
Delicious Homemade Coconut Bread! Oh my I can't get enough of all the coconut lately. It is giving me a chance to cook all kinds of new foods. One of them being coconut bread which is something I have never heard if before let alone made. That is until now! When I was a child I hated coconut. It was one of my Mom's favorite things to cook with. She would purchase anything with coconut in it because she loves it so much. Now that I am getting older I realize that I am starting to like coconut more and more. Recently I have been able to experiment with lots of great coconut recipes. This amazing bread is one of my favorites that I have made. The whole family loved it and I even made some for my Mom. She was thrilled, after all these years of loving coconut she has never made it in bread before and could not wait to give it a try! Ingredients 2 eggs 1 1/4 cups vanilla almond milk (can use regular milk as well but the vanilla almond milk makes it tasty!) 1 teaspoon vanilla … [Read more...]
Open a Coconut the Safe and Easy Way!
Open a Coconut the Safe and Easy Way! One of the biggest reasons why I never purchased coconuts in the past was because of how hard they are to open. I mean I you could really hurt yourself trying to get that tasty white meat out of one of those thing. Well that was until I learned how to open a coconut the safe and easy way. Who would have thought that baking a coconut would pop it's shell off like that? Certainly not me, but that is exactly what happened! Now I have no excuse for not purchasing coconut's and I am so excited for the amazing recipes I will soon be posting! Yum! The first thing you will want to do when opening a coconut is find the soft eye at the top. Every coconut has three 'eyes'. Two of them are hard and one is soft. By taking a "clean" screwdriver and poking at the holes you will be able to find the soft one. The screwdriver will be able to go into the eye without much force. When you find the soft eye move the screw driver around to make that … [Read more...]
Quick and Easy Chocolate Pie
Quick and Easy Chocolate Pie If you’ve been anywhere near a pharmacy or department store lately, you’ve probably been overwhelmed by the massive amounts of red, pink, hearts and baby cupids that have been popping up in every store window since New Year’s Day. While the flowery decorations and cheesy cards can often become a bit much as Valentine’s Day approaches, there’s one aspect of Valentine’s Day that most people never get tired of, and that’s chocolate! Whether you’re partial to those giant heart boxes of chocolate from the drugstore or prefer to whip up something a little more gourmet in your own kitchen, Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse for people everywhere—whether they’re in a relationship or not!—to indulge in a little bit of extra sweetness. If you’re looking to treat yourself or your sweetie to Valentine’s Day Desserts, this quick and easy chocolate pie makes an indulgent and extremely yummy dessert option that only takes 15 short minutes to prepare. Top with … [Read more...]
Plum Muffins Recipe
Plum Muffins! Ingredients 1 cup plums pitted and chopped 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1/2 cup margarine 1 cup white sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 eggs 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/3 cup vanilla yogurt Directions: First thing you will want to do is preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place chopped plums in bowl with 1 TBS flour and mix well. Set Aside In large bowl beat together margarine, sugar, vanilla extract and eggs. Beat until fluffy. In third bowl combine flour, salt and baking soda. Stir dry ingredients into yogurt and add to mixed dough. Mix until smooth batter is formed. Add plums and stir until well mixed. Place into cupcake pan and bake at 350 degree's for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown and tooth pick can be inserted and come out clean. - Remove from oven and let cool! … [Read more...]
Home Made Mango Bread Recipe
*This post contains affiliate links. Recently I purchased the Mango Pack from Bountiful Baskets which gave me the chance to experiment with lots of great Mango Recipes! One recipe I knew I had to try was the Mango Bread Recipe! It just looked delicious and I must say...It was! Plus it is super quick and easy which is always a plus! Ingredients: 2 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/4 cups sugar 3/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (I used my Home Made Vanilla) 3 eggs 2 cups diced mango 1/2 cup chopped pecans First off you will want to Place all ingredients into large mixing bowl and mix until well blended. Make sure to get down to the bottom of the bowl so that there is no clumps of flour. After all ingredients are well mixed you will need to pour ingredients into non-stick or greased and floured 9x5x3 bread pan for baking. (you could also use cupcake tin if you like but the baking time will decrees so watch to see when … [Read more...]
Home Made Vanilla Extract Recipe!
Home Made Vanilla Extract Recipe! I love making my own Vanilla Extract and thanks to Bountiful Baskets I recently received lots of great vanilla beans to make enough Vanilla to last me at least a year!! Would you like to learn how to make your own home made vanilla extract? Well with this vanilla extract recipe it is simple and easy! Ingredients:Vanilla Beans (about 8)750 ml VodkaFirst you will want to slice your vanilla beans down the side so that the soft insides will be able to mix into the vodka. After you slit the sides of the vanilla beans you will need to place the vanilla beans inside the 750ml bottle of vodka. Once the vanilla beans are inside the bottle of Vodka you will need to shake the bottle around to help the vanilla mix with the vodka. After you give your bottle a good shake place it in a cupboard and only take out every few days to give it a good shake to break up the pulp. After about a week you will start to see some color changes in … [Read more...]