I will not lie...these are delicious!

Buttermilk Peach Scones with White Chocolate Chips

1-1/3 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 t. baking powder
3/4 t. cinnamon
1/8 t salt
1/4 cup cold butter, cubed

1 egg, beaten
3 T buttermilk
1/4 t. almond extract
1/4 t. vanilla

1 1/2 cups chopped fresh peaches
7 oz. white chocolate chips

1. In small bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Cut in cold, cubed butter until resembles coarse crumbs.
2. In a small bowl, combine beaten egg, buttermilk and almond and vanilla extract.
3. Add to dry ingredients, mix until moisten. Fold in chopped peaches and white chocolate chips.
4. Bake 1/4 cup mounds on parchment lined baking sheet
8. Bake at 425 for 10-12 mins or until golden brown

Christmas Is In The Air

December really is a magical month!  I got a killer deal on our beautiful Christmas tree on Black Friday ($20 Noble Fir) and so the kids were all begging to decorate as soon as we put away the turkey and gravy.  With Birch deep diving in tithing settlements we did some of the decorating of the house without him but saved the tree for our Monday night family activity. 

 We have a TON of ornaments.  I grew up getting at least one ornament every year from my parents and/or Grandma and now have all of those ornaments plus we have carried on the same tradition with our kids and give them a special ornament each year too.

 Good thing we got a plump tree as we need lots of sturdy branches to fit on all of those ornaments.

 Chloe was so excited when she found her cinnamon star ornament that she made last year at preschool.  It still even smelled good!  Wondering about the glasses?   Chloe has been wearing them since I popped out the lenses for my Halloween costume.  If she ever really needs them at least we know she'll look really cute.

 Alysee was rockin' out all night!

 Chloe has been busy making all sorts of advent countdowns and lists of cut-up pictures from magazines of what she is hoping to get for Christmas this year.

 Birch and I found this note taped to our bedroom door recently.  Perhaps my threat of "Santa knows if you are being naughty" is really sinking in to Chloe's mind. 

On that same night I was tucking Chloe in bed and her bedtime prayer went something like this:  "Dear Heavenly Father, Please bless that I'll be good for the rest of my life.  And that I will not laugh during prayer [meanwhile she is laughing like a hyena].  And that next time I'll close my eyes during prayer.  Amen"

 I'm not a super crafty gal but when I saw this idea of making a garland out of felt balls I thought it was something I could handle.  I ordered the balls from a woman in Nepal and then just strung them up. 

 Super easy and it turned out cute!

In Primary two weeks ago, I was in charge of sharing time and invited six prophets who foretold of Christ's birth to come visit the children and share where in the scriptures they spoke of Christ's birth.  It was really a memorable experience.  Birch was an excellent Abinadi (even though the picture is of poor quality -- he wears a great platinum blond wig).

We've been doing a scripture advent calendar each night (along with a treat) and it has been a great reminder of all the things that lead up to Christ's birth.  I love that this time of the year it is easy to make room for Christ, though it is a reminder to me that there should always be room for Christ in my heart and life. 

Hate to brag but...

How can I not share this recipe that has brought new light into my life? This recipe is fabulous--so fast, easy and non-fussy. My sister-in-law who sent the recipe to me said it would change my life...and it has! Just start it in the morning when the kids leave for school and then finish it up when they get home -- super easy.


Artisan Crusty Bread

3 c. warm water
1 1/2 T yeast
1 1/2 T kosher salt or 1 T iodized
6 c. flour or 5 1/2 cup whole wheat
(optional: add garlic, rosemary, basil, etc...)

Mix yeast, salt and water (and any of the optional items) in large bowl. (Like popcorn size bowl.) Stir in flour, mixing until no dry patches remain. Dough will be very loose and sticky. Cover and let rise 2-5 hours (I think the longer the better).

Dust a pan or cookie sheet with cornmeal, maybe 1/3 cup. Sprinkle dough with flour and pull off grapefruit size pieces of dough. Turn into a ball using additional flour on your hands as needed to shape 4-5loaves. (Remember this dough is ultra sticky so I justify the oddly shaped loaves as being rustic and artisan.) Let rest on pan for 40 minutes.

Heat oven to 450 degrees and place an empty pan such as an old muffin tin or bread pan on the bottom rack while heating. Dust loaves with flour and slash tops with a knife three times or if you are up to it in beautiful ornate patterns. Pour one cup of water in empty pan in oven and place loaves in oven. Quickly close oven door to prevent escaping steam. Bake for 30 minutes. (I know, seems like a long time at that high of heat but don't scrimp on time or you'll loose all the yummy crusty goodness! And don't peek by opening the oven door either. Tempting, but you'll loose the steam. Must. Keep. Steam.)

You can also keep the dough covered in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Let rest on cornmeal for an extra hour before baking.

Gotta brag about my husband...

who put in a new radiator today all by himself AND it seems to be working AND he didn't have to buy any new tools to do it AND it only took half of the day AND it had been since high school (folks, that's like over 20 years ago) since he had last put in a radiator.

What a lucky gal I am! (Check out the duck tape on his work shoes--think he deserves new ones for Christmas?)

Braided Hot Sandwiches

I should definitely come up with a more creative name for this most delicious meal. Several years ago a woman from church shared a variation of this recipe with me and it has been a family favorite ever since. Basically it is a hot meat and cheese sandwich with anything extra you decide to throw in.

This past week I whipped up six of these (we were sharing four with another family) in not much time at all.

Braided Hot Sandwich

First:

Make your bread dough (a real simple recipe is just perfect).

2 cups hot water
1 Tab. yeast
2. Tab. sugar
1 tsp. salt
4 cups flour
optional: 2 Tab. spices (I used this yummy mix from TJ Max called Parmesan Garlic Bread Dipping Blend)

Let rise about an hour (or stick it in your warmed oven if you are short in time until the dough rises to double).

Then:

Divide dough up. The dough recipe above will make three Hot Sandwiches.
Roll the dough out so it is a nice rectangle (maybe like 10" X 16")
Next use your pizza cutter or knife and make 1 1/2" slices all down the side of the dough (see below)
Then put all your fillings in the inside. This is where you can great creative.
Here are some ideas that I have tried:

--mustard, ham, cheese
--pesto (mixed with ranch), turkey, cheese
--marinara, ham, peperoni, cheese
--meat, cheese
Then you braid the dough. First you fold down the top of the rectangle a bit and then just start "braiding" the dough. Really it is a fake braid because you are just crisscrossing your dough strips.Gently lift of the braided sandwich and lay it on your greased and cornmeal dusted pan. Don't forget this next step...take one egg YOKE blended with 1 T. of water and brush the tops of all the sandwiches. One egg yoke was enough for all six of my sandwiches.
Let rise for a bit (maybe a 1/2 hour or stick in the fridge if you are not wanting to cook them for a couple of hours). Then Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown (probably 15-20 minutes).

They are delicious and look very pretty. If you are a veggie lover you could throw in some sliced olives, red peppers, artichoke hearts, or any other nasty veggie you can think of (just kidding...just I really am just a meat and cheese girl).

Serve with homemade french fries or chips and a tasty salad. Super yummy!

Triple Layer Peanut Butter Brownies

Yesterday was the Blue and Gold banquet for cub scouts. This year we had a pie contest. Not being a big dessert maker Alex, Tyler, and I had to get creative. Tyler made a yummy mint chocolate chip ice cream pie with a rice krispie crust. Alex and I found the following recipe in my kraft foods magazine. We made it in a pie pan and it was sure a hit last night. Thought I would share the recipe:

Total Time: 2 hr 10 min

Makes: Makes 32 servings.

What You Need!

1 pkg. (19 to 21 oz.) brownie mix(13x9-inch pan size)

1 cup cold milk

1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1-1/2 cups COOL WHIP Whipped Topping (Do not thaw.)

3 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate (we just used chocolate chips)

1/2 cup PLANTERS Dry Roasted Peanuts, coarsely chopped

Make It!

PREPARE and bake brownies in 13x9-inch pan as directed on package; cool. Meanwhile, beat milk and pudding mix with whisk 2 min. Add peanut butter and sugar; mix well. Refrigerate until brownies are completely cooled.

SPREAD pudding mixture over brownies.

MICROWAVE COOL WHIP and chocolate on HIGH 1 min., stirring every 30 sec. Spread over pudding; sprinkle with nuts. Refrigerate 1 hour.

And the winner is...

Last week I entered a recipe contest with our local newspaper. What do you know...yesterday I flipped open the newspaper and saw this:
What did I win, you might ask? Hum...I think bragging rights. If anyone is wanting my autograph you know how to reach me. These muffins are really quite tasty if I do say so myself.

Morning Gingerbread and Apple Muffins

In case you aren't privy to my brother's blog you have recently missed out on two really tasty recipes.


Apple Gingerbread

1 cup buttermilk (I substituted 1 c. milk with 1 t. vinegar)
6 tablespoons butter
3 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 heaping teaspoons ground ginger
2 heaping teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 heaping teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 heaping teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 Apple (diced or shredded)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a bread pans (2), then set aside. In a saucepan, over medium heat, add the buttermilk and butter. When the butter has melted, remove from the heat and cool. Whisk in the eggs, sugar & apples. Whisk until smooth. Sift the flour, baking soda and spices together. Stir the flour. Mix well. Pour into the prepared pan (batter was surprisingly runny.) Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the center of the bread is done. Remove the bread from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

Whole Wheat Apple Muffins

These dark, crazy moist muffins will keep well for several days, and the brown sugar on top, should you not skimp on it as it adds a crunchy touch, perfect for those of you who know that the lid is the best part.

Yield: 18 muffins

1 cup (4 ounces) whole wheat flour
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup (8 ounces) buttermilk or yogurt
2 large apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Grease and flour an 18 cup muffin tin and set aside.

Mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and set aside. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and add the granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of the brown sugar. Beat until fluffy. Add the egg and mix well; stop once to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.Mix in the buttermilk gently. (If you over-mix, the buttermilk will cause the mixture to curdle.) Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the apple chunks.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, sprinkling the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar on top. Bake for 10 minutes, turn the heat down to 400°F, and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool the muffins for 5 minutes in the tin, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

These are a few of my favorite things

Last night I went to a fun girls party called "My Favorite Things." Each person that came brought five of their favorite things under $5.00. After munching lots of yummy stuff we all went around and shared what our favorite thing was and then at the end we drew five names. Those five ladies got to take home our favorite things. I came home with some flowers to plant, a cute toe ring and anklet, a washable dusting mitt, and a bag of goodies (sharpie, candy bar, dry wall sandpaper to clean hard water stains, note pad), and a bottle of Rainwater. I brought the Magic Eraser and a burned cd with some of my favorite music. It was a lot of fun and a great way to interact with a big group of people even if you don't know them all well. I think the more the merrier!

I brought rolls as my favorite treat to share. This is a new recipe that was just given to me. If you haven't had success making delicious rolls you have got to try this recipe. You don't even use your kitchen aid and the raising time is so minimal. It seriously takes like 2 hours from start to finish. They are incredible--and I should know because I am a connoisseur of bread!!!

Blender Rolls

In Blender:
2 1/2 C Hot water
2 T yeast
1/3 C sugar
2 tsp salt
1/2 C softened butter or margarine
1 egg
blend well

Measure out 7 C flour in a large bowl, and make a well in the center. Pour blender ingredients into flour and stir until all flour is mixed in. Place a wet dish towel over dough. Let rise one hour. With well greased or buttered hands (butter spray works well) shape into rolls (the dough will be very sticky so you will probably have to spray your hands every few rolls). On a large sheet pan (like from Costco) you can get about 5 rolls across and 6 down (these are big rolls). Let rise, about 30 min. or a bit more if you have time. Place in a 375 degree oven for 20 min. Butter tops of hot rolls when out of the oven.

***I have been told to use this for cinnamon rolls, and Indian flat bread (form into flat discs and fry in 2 in hot oil...top with beans, meat, lettuce , sour cream, tomato etc...or sweet with syrup or fruit like pancakes.) You can also make pizza rolls with them. It is a great dough.

Cheddar Chicken Pie

Super tasty. Even three of my kids tried it and thought it was good. I called it scrambled egg pie. Birch could even eat it because it only has 3 eggs in the whole pie.

Cheddar Chicken Pie

Ready in an hour or less

3 cups (12 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided

10 ounces frozen or fresh broccoli

1 1/2 cup cubed cooked chicken (or sausage or bacon or nothing)

2/3 cup chopped onion (or a little green onion or nothing)

1 1/3 cup milk

3 eggs

3/4 cup biscuit/baking mix (see below)

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

In a bowl, combine 2 cups cheese, broccoli, chicken, and onion (if using); spread into a greased 10 in. pie pan. In an small mixing bowl, beat the milk, eggs, biscuit mix, salt and pepper until smooth. Pour over broccoli mixture. DO NOT STIR.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until knife comes clean in the center of the pie. Sprinkle with remaining cup of cheese. Let stand 5 minutes and then serve.

****Since I did not have any biscuit mix I looked up online and found out how to make it. It was SUPER easy.

3/4 cup flour

2 T. powd. milk

1/8 tsp. baking powder

2 T. shortening

I used pre-cooked bacon bits from Costco instead of the chicken and it was very tasty and easy.

What's cookin' at the Ditto's Diner

I was thinking that I had put the soup ladle up for a few months but this afternoon it got quite chilly and I decided that soup and cornbread was for dinner. I actually am not a big soup eater so this means that the following recipe is really worth trying. The recipe was passed on to me by a friend but can't you claim a recipe after you have made it several times and altered it a bit?

Chicken Tortellini Soup

Saute: 1/4 c. onion and 1/2 c. celery in 2 T. water (I actually totally skipped this step)

Stir in: 2 c. milk
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can chicken broth or 2 c. chicken broth
4 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and cut up
1/4 tsp. basil
1/8 tsp. pepper
garlic salt to taste

Heat above and add one package of frozen tortellini (or ravioli noodles are good too) and cook according to the package.

Optional additions: 1 shredded carrot, or steamed broccoli, or steamed zucchini, or corn

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

I had this dish last night at a church function--so super yummy! She served it in a beautiful dish with sliced toasted bread. Such a yummy flavor and very simple!

Spaghetti alla Carbonara
(Gourmet Magazine)

1/2 lb bacon (or more, thick sliced)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup white wine (or chicken broth)
1 # spaghetti noodles, cooked
3 large eggs
3/4 Cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated
1/3 Cup Pecorino Romano, finely grated
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper

Brown bacon in pan, then add onions and cook till medium brown (pan will get dark on bottom but don't worry). Add wine (or broth) to deglaze the pan, boil, reducing liquid in 1/2.

Cook spaghetti in salted water till al dente.

In large mixing bowl whisk together eggs, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, salt and pepper. Add bacon mixture to this and whisk in.

Drain spaghetti and while hot add to egg/bacon mixture. Toss spagetti to coat (the hot pasta cooks the eggs slightly).

*I added some parsley for color, and shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano on top. Another idea is to add red pepper flakes for some heat.

White Bean Chicken Chili -- Yummo!

There are two ways to make this--the quick way and the slower cheaper way. The quick way you would use canned beans and diced up chicken breasts. The cheaper way you would cook the beans yourself and use a whole boiled chicken that would then need to be de-boned. I just did the cheaper lengthier method but it was worth the time.

Here is the quick method recipe:

2 T. Olive Oil
1 med. chopped onion
1 minced garlic clove
3 chicken breasts
9 oz. corn
2 cans Great Northern Beans (Navy beans)
7 oz. can green chilies
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. coriander (I didn't have any of this)
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
3 cups chicken broth
3 T. lime juice

Directions: Saute first four ingredients and then add the rest of the stuff in and heat for about 20 minutes.

Toppings: sliced limes, corn chips, sour cream, cheese, salsa

The lengthier method:
Dump about 16 oz. of dried Navy Beans into cold water. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Turn off heat. Then let sit for one hour. Next drain the beans and add the chicken broth and seasonings to your beans and cook for about two hours. Meanwhile, cook your whole chicken and de-bone. Once the beans are done cooking add the cooked diced chicken and corn. Serve w/ toppings.

Éclair Bar

(Okay, so it won't end up looking quite like this since it is a bar recipe but it still tastes like you are at one of my favorite bakeries in Corvallis, New Morning Bakery.--I must apologize for not giving the rightful originator credit for this recipe. I was first introduced to this yumminess from my sister Leah who I believe got the recipe from her mother-in-law. You will not be disappointed!!)

Pastry:

1 1/2 sticks of butter

1 1/2C water

1 ½ cup flour

6 eggs beat slightly

Topping:

8oz cream cheese, softened

3T milk

2 pkg vanilla instant pudding (the smaller size)

3C milk

8oz cool whip

Directions:

Melt butter in water, bring to a boil. Remove, add flour, stir till it

forms a ball, add beaten eggs a little at a time. Stir until smooth.

Spray cookie sheet and spread dough evenly. Bake 400 for 25 minutes.

Cool.

Whip together cream cheese and milk (3T) till smooth. In a different

bowl, combine milk and pudding. Add to the cream cheese mixture and

blend thoroughly. Fold in cool whip.

Heat hot fudge chocolate topping (Mrs. Richards). Spread one jar of chocolate sauce on top.