I am so happy that you have landed in my little corner of cyberspace. If you join me here, you will, hopefully, get to know a little about me. You will read my thoughts, my hopes and dreams, and see some of my favorite things. I hope you will visit often. I will try to update it regularly and hopefully you will see an improvement in the blog along the way. Thank you for stopping in to see me as I travel on this journey called "life"!













Monday, November 14, 2011

BISCOFF COOKIE DOUGH BALLS

I've said it before I will say it again.... I love Pinterest. My family is beginning to love Pinterest, as well, since I have been making some of the things that I have been pinning. Like Biscoff Cookie Dough Balls, for example...


I did not wait as long to get on the Biscoff bandwagon as I did for Nutella and I am so happy that I did not wait.  That stuff is awesome.......

on toast...
on apples...
in cookies...
on my finger....

so.good.

Run to the store and get a jar of it and make these cookies.  You can get the recipe here at The Novice Chef blogI know some of you will be shocked; but I did not change a thing.

Thanks so much for stopping by,

Sunday, November 13, 2011

SCHOOL HOUSE ROLLS


When I was in school, the "lunch ladies" made the best rolls.   I remember the wonderful aroma of those rolls being prepared for lunch.   You could seriously smell them all over the school before lunch.    Several years ago, David worked at a job that took him to the school cafeterias to support the staff with their IT issues.   He got first hand experience with the amazing smell of the rolls and somehow managed to get the recipe from the grateful "lunch ladies".   Of course, the original recipe makes 120 rolls and had to be scaled down to a more reasonable amount.

He hasn't made them for years; but recently, at the request of my mom, the baker returned and he made a batch of these amazing rolls.   I knew that I had to share these with you just in time for Thanksgiving.

School House Rolls
adapted from the "Lunch Ladies" recipe from Lincoln Parish Schools

3 1/2 cups Water
1 Tbsp. Honey
6 1/2 to 7 cups of All Purpose Flour
1 cup Dry Milk
1/2 cup Sugar
2 1/2 tsp. Salt
2 sticks Unsalted Butter*
3 packets of Yeast
Extra butter for the tops of the rolls

Heat water to 110 degrees (hot tap water).  Stir honey and one stick of melted butter into the water until thoroughly combined.  Add yeast and let it grow (about ten minutes).  Add all of the other ingredients to the water and butter mixture and mix until a ball is formed.  Transfer the ball into a lightly oiled large bowl.  Cover and let rise until double in size.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Once the dough has risen, pinch rolls into balls and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet.   Let the rolls rise again, approximately 30 minutes.  Brush the tops of the rolls with melted butter and place in the preheated oven.  Bake until golden brown, approximately 20 minutes.

*  The lunch ladies used shortening instead of butter in the rolls.  We don't like to use shortening so David used butter in place of the shortening this time.  The rolls are delicious either way; however, I think the rolls made with the shortening have a slight edge.

 Thanks so much for stopping by,

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

BISCOFF PEANUT BUTTER FLOURLESS COOKIES

I have never been a huge peanut butter cookie fan.   My mom made them a lot when I was growing up because they were my Dad's favorite.   I always begged her to let me have some of the raw cookie dough because to me, the raw dough was always better than the baked cookie.

Leave it to Pinterest and the newly discovered Biscoff Spread to change my mind...


These were the best peanut butter cookies ever...

Biscoff Peanut Butter Flourless Cookies
adapted from a recipe found here at The Kitchn

1/2 cup Biscoff Spread
1/2 cup peanut butter *
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

white sugar for rolling

Preheat oven to 375 degrees° F.   Combine all ingredients except for white sugar in a bowl and mix well.  Roll the dough into balls and roll in the white sugar before placing on a parchment lined or silpat lined baking sheet.  Using a fork, flatten slightly in a criss-cross pattern.  Bake 10 minutes and cool on the baking sheet before removing.


So good.

Thanks so much for stopping by,
 

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Massaged Kale Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Wheat Berries and Goat Cheese


In my opinion, roasted sweet potatoes are some of the best things in life.  They are especially tasty when you roast them with Smoky Paprika Chipotle Seasoning.  


And when you combine them with kale that has been massaged with avocado, salt and fresh lime juice, add some cooked wheat berries and top it with crumbled goat cheese, you get a salad that you simply must tell your friends about.


It was so good and so good for you.   

Thanks so much for stopping by,


This post is being linked up here
with the Hearth and Soul Hop.


Hearth & Soul Hop

Sunday, November 6, 2011

VANILLA LATTE COOKIES


Another cookie recipe courtesy of Pinterest...
 

Vanilla Latte Cookies
Adapted from Sugarcrafter

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. espresso powder*
3 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon**
2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.  In a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth.  Reduce the mixer speed and add the powdered sugar, espresso, vanilla and cinnamon.  Mix thoroughly.  Add the flour and beat until combined.  Roll the dough into 1″ balls and place them 2″ apart on the baking sheet. Press the cookies slightly to flatten.  Bake about 12 minutes or until the edges are set. Transfer to a wire rack to let cool. 

*  We used the finely ground coffee that gathers at the top of the coffee grinder box.
** I used Roasted Saigon Cinnamon.  Awesome stuff.

The original recipe says that you can store the cookies at room temperature for up to 3 days in an airtight storage container.  There is absolutely no way that they would last that long in this house.  You can, also, freeze for up to 3 months.   That will be the only way that I could keep any here.   They were seriously so good.


Thanks so much for stopping by,