Peach and Blueberry Greek Yogurt Cake

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Ingredients

• 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 stick butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 2 peaches, sliced into wedges
• 6 oz blueberries
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Grease the side and the bottom of the pan with butter or cooking spray. Line the bottom of a 9x3-inch springform pan (or 9 inch round cake pan) with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper too.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, together into a medium bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, beat butter, sugar, and 2 eggs until very light in color and fluffy, 2-3 minutes on high speed. Add vanilla and Greek yogurt and continue beating until very creamy and light in color, for about 1 more minute.
4. Keeping the mixer speed low, mix in the flour mix until combined. Do not overmix.
5. Transfer the cake batter to the springform pan. Top with sliced peaches, and scatter blueberries evenly on top in the spaces between the peach slices. Sprinkle the fruit with 1 teaspoon granulated sugar.
6. Bake until cake turns golden, and the tester comes out clean in the center, about 1 hour, depending on your oven. Midway through baking, I like to put some extra peach slices and extra blueberries on top of the cake for prettiness, and return cake to baking.
7. When the cake is done baking, let it cool (still in the baking pan) on a wire rack. After cake has cooled for about 40 minutes, release the cake from the springform pan. At this point, if the cake is cool enough, you can slide your hand under the cake, between the parchment paper and the bottom portion of the springform pan and move the cake with the parchment paper attached to its bottom onto a cake plate easily.
8. If using a 9 inch round cake pan, cook in pan for about 40 minutes or more (up to 1 hour, depending on your oven), then invert onto a plate.

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PUMPKIN PIE DIP!

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INGREDIENTS

• 1 package (8 ounces) spreadable cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• ¾ cup powdered sugar
• 1½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ½ container vanilla (or regular) Cool Whip

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In an electric mixer, cream together all of the ingredients and blend until smooth and well-incorporated.
2. Serve cold, with graham crackers, fruit, cinnamon pita chips, or vanilla wafers.

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Do it at home!

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Cupcake Bouquet - quick and creative edible centerpiece!

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How to make DIY gift bags for hard-to-wrap items 

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Very good idea

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DIY Project: 3D Paper Lanterns

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DIY Swirly Paper Flowers 

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Getting Crafty!

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DIY: Paper Fortune Cookies!

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DIY Seashell Candles

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DIY Holiday Gift Plant Projects

 

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Washi Tape Tree! A festive way to organize all of your holiday cards. 

 

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DIY Indoor Garden

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My Travel Map

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Classic, Hotel Danieli, Venice, Italy. wow

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Hot air ballooning in Cappadocia, Turkey 

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Inveraray Castle and Garden ~ Argyll, Scotland 

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Athens, Greece.

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Sorrento, Italy 

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Grilled Chicken Tenderloins

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Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips.
• 1 cup zesty Italian dressing
• 2 teaspoons lime juice
• 3 teaspoons honey

Instructions

1. Place chicken in gallon ziplock bag. Combine all other ingredients and pour over. Seal and marinate for at least an hour.
2. Pour all ingredients into a large skillet and cook over medium heat until liquid evaporates and remaining marinade becomes thick and caramelized. 
3. Coat each piece of chicken in marinade by rubbing it around on the bottom of the pan before removing it

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Easy Tofu Vegetable Rolls

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Ingredients

• ¼ cup of onions, diced
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon of water
• ¼ tsp garlic salt
• 2 large cucumbers
• 4 large carrots
• 10-12 oz of tofu, cut into thin slices (should make about 24 thin slices)

Instructions

1. Start by cutting 24 thin rectangular slices. Season with garlic salt and set aside.
2. Slice carrots in to thin strips. I found it easiest to do this with a mandolin. Next, cut carrots into rectangles to match the size of the tofu slice.
3. Next, slice the cucumber into long strips with a mandolin.
4. Over a medium/high heat, saute, garlic and onions until onions become translucent.
5. Dip each tofu piece in water/soy sauce mixture before adding to the pan.
6. Saute until both sides of tofu are golden.
7. After tofu is done, place on a couple sheets of paper towel to absorbed any extra oil.
8. To assemble the rolls, place tofu and carrots on one end of cucumber strip. Roll up and seal with a tooth pick.

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Million Dollar Spaghetti

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Ingredients

• 1 lb of ground beef
• 1 jar of spaghetti sauce
• 8 oz of cream cheese
• ¼ cup sour cream
• ½ lb cottage cheese (equals 1 cup)
• ½ cup butter (1 stick)
• 1 pkg spaghetti 16 oz
• Grated cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°. Boil your spaghetti noodles until al dente (firm). Drain and set aside until ready to assemble.
2. Combine the cream cheese, sour cream and cottage cheese until well blended.
3. Brown your hamburger and when done, drain well. Combine the hamburger with your spaghetti sauce.
4. Put a few slices of butter into a 9x13 pan then pour half of your spaghetti noodles on top.
5. Take your cream cheese mixture and pour on top of the noodles. Spread well over noodles.
6. Pour the rest of the noodles on top of the cream cheese mixture. Put a few more slices of butter on top of the noodles.
7. Pour your spaghetti and meat sauce on top of your noodles.
8. Now it is ready to put into the oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, pour the desired amount of grated cheese on top and return to the oven for 15 minutes to allow cheese to melt.

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Cheddar Cheese Rolls

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Ingredients:

• 7 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons yeast
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 ½ cups milk
• ½ cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 lb cheddar cheese, cut into ½-inch cubes

Instructions:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixture combine, 4 cups of the flour, yeast, sugar and salt. In a medium size sauce pan melt the butter. When butter has melted add the milk into the pan. Continue to barely warm the milk until it reaches a temperature of about 110-115 degrees. Remove from the heat and pour over the flour mixture while the mixer is running. Continue to beat for about 5-7 minutes. Making sure the yeast has dissolved. Beat in the eggs. Add remaining flour 1 cup at a time. Add enough flour to make a soft, slightly sticky dough or until the dough begins to pull away from the edges of the bowl while mixing. Place the dough in a large bowl that has been oiled. Turn the dough to coat completely in the oil. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
2. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a counter top. Divide the dough in half then into quarters. Divide each quarter into 8 equal size balls. Place a cube of cheese in the middle of the dough. Pull the dough around the cheese to form a ball then pinch the dough tightly so that the cheese doesn’t melt out during baking. This will make approximately 36-40 rolls. Place the rolls on a parchment lined baking sheet about ½-inch apart. Cover and let rise for about 30 minutes. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until golden.
3. Meanwhile, melt the ¼ cup butter and add minced garlic. Set aside. Mix grated Parmesan cheese with parsley and set aside. When the rolls come out of the oven, immediately brush with the garlic butter and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese parsley mixture. Serve immediately. Makes about 36-40 rolls.

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Spicy Roasted Chickpeas

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Ingredients:

• One 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon Extra Hot Chili Mix 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.Toss chickpeas with oil and seasoning until evenly coated. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Roast, stirring occasionally, until chickpeas are golden and crunchy, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

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All i want for Christmas!

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Ana Rosa

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Roasted beef prime rib 

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Christmas Crown Roast of Pork

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Christmas Wonderland Cupcakes

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Christmas Table Decorations 

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Spinach Egg Cups

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Ingredients

• A little olive oil (for cooking the mushrooms)
• 1 (10 oz) package fresh spinach (I used the baby ones) --- about 284 grams
• 4 eggs (if the yolks are quite small I use 5 eggs)
• 1 cup shredded cheese of your choice (I use mozzarella or the Italian Blend)
• 1 (8 oz package) mini-bella mushrooms, chopped
• 1-2 Tbsp, heavy cream or half-and-half (optional)
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• *Variation - If you don't fancy mushrooms, try asparagus or bell peppers with the spinach. Also, add some onions to the mix. I add some when I do not use mushrooms.

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 375F or 190C.
2. Heat a little oil in a large skillet. Saute the mushrooms until they are soft, about 5-6 minutes. Set Aside.
3. Place the spinach in a deep pan or in the skillet that you used for the mushrooms. Add a little water, 1/4 cup should do it. Using medium heat, cook the spinach just until wilted, about 3-4 mins. Use either your hand or a spatula to pack in the spinach. Drain the excess water really well (especially if you decide to use frozen spinach instead).
4. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs until combined. Add the cooked mushrooms, spinach, cheeses and cream (if using) to the eggs. Mix well. Season to taste.
5. Divide evenly among the 12 muffin cups. The muffin tray was slightly bigger than usual so I only filled about 10 cups.
6. Bake for about 20-23 minutes, or until it's well set and a tester/toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Leave in the pan for a few minutes or just until it's cool enough to handle. It was so easy to remove them from the pan! They practically pop-out!
8. Sprinkle with a little more cheese on top, if desired. Mark enjoys them with rice on the side!

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Lauren’s Enchilada Stuffed Mushrooms

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INGREDIENTS:

• 20-24 baby bella mushrooms
• 6 oz. softened cream cheese
• 1/4 cup grated parmigianno regianno cheese
• 1 teaspoon taco seasoning
• 1 green onion, sliced {white and green parts}
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese, divided
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 cup red enchilada sauce
• any desired toppings: sour cream, salsa, cilantro, etc.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease baking dish with non stick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Remove stems from mushrooms and wipe caps with damp cloth to remove any dirt. Place into baking dish.
3. In a small bowl, stir cream cheese to soften. Pour in parmesan cheese, taco seasoning, green onion, 3/4 cup cheddar cheese, salt and pepper. Spoon filling into cleaned mushrooms. Pour enchilada sauce over top. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheddar cheese. Bake 20 minutes until browned and bubbly. Serve hot.

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Pancake Wrapped Bacon Dippers

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Method:

Just make some nice smokey bacon and pour your batter over it along the strip. Flip when ready. Dip into syrup. Yum.

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Vacation!

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Casa Rio, San Antonio, Texas

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Floating Lantern Festival, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA 

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Central Park, NYC 

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Night in Berlin, Germany

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Thailand 

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Rosemary Garlic Butter Steaks

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Ingredients

• 4 rump steaks (1 to 1.5-inches thick), room tº
• 2 or 3 garlic cloves
• 2 Tbs fresh rosemary leaves
• 3 Tbs butter
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• A splash of white or red wine 

Instructions

1. Mince garlic and rosemary. Add 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste) and mince it a little longer. You can also do this with a mortar and pestle. Rub the paste over both sides of each steak.
2. Heat a skillet over medium/high heat and melt butter. Add oil to prevent it from burning too much. Add steaks, season them with pepper and cook 1 or 2 minutes on each side. Turn it over, cook it 2 or 3 more minutes and add the wine (you can add extra garlic and rosemary now too to the skillet). It will steam furiously. Cook the steak 2 or 3 additional minutes for medium rare, remove steaks and let rest for 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cook the wine until reduced and a kind of sauce if formed. Slice the steaks and serve them with the sauce. 

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Christmas Mania!

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Christmas ornaments..

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Merry Christmas train 

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Colorful Christmas Ornaments - Love 

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Beautiful ornaments!

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The stockings are hung!

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Fresh Flowers!

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Beautiful Flower!

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~'Purity' climbing rose 

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Nella Panebianco  

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Colorado Columbine 

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Coquita 

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Chicken, Mushroom, and Spinach Enchiladas

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Ingredients
Filling:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 small onion, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 lb mushrooms, chopped coarsely
• ¼ cup chicken broth
• 9 ounces fresh spinach, washed, drained and coarsely chopped
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or cubed

Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• ¾ cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 cup sour cream
• ½ cup cilantro, chopped

Other:

• 8 flour tortillas
• 1½ cups Monterey jack cheese, shredded

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 baking dish.
2. For the filling: Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and saute onions, garlic and mushrooms until soft and liquid has evaporated, about 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Remove half of the mushroom mixture and set aside for the sauce.
4. Add the chicken broth and cook for 2 more minutes.
5. Add the spinach and cook until spinach has wilted and cooked down. Stir in the cream cheese until melted. Season with salt as needed. Stir in the chicken.
6. For the Sauce: In a small sauce pan combine lime juice, chicken broth, and garlic powder. Add the reserved mushroom mixture, sour cream and cilantro. Reduce heat to simmer until sauce just begins to thicken. Add salt to taste.
7. Divide filling evenly among the 8 tortillas, fill and roll and place them seam side down in the prepared pan.
8. Pour sauce over enchiladas, top with shredded cheese and bake 10-15 minutes or until it's nice and bubbly.

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Honey Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes

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INGREDIENTS:

• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine the honey, olive oil, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Add the sweet potatoes and toss to coat.
3. Dump potatoes onto a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 25-30 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking.

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Easy Mini Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

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Ingredients:

For the pumpkin cinnamon rolls:

• 1 can Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations refrigerated seamless dough sheet
• 1/4 cup pumpkin butter (I use Trader Joe's brand)
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the cream cheese frosting:

• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon milk (more if you like a thin frosting)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Unroll sheet dough into one large rectangle. Spread pumpkin butter evenly over the dough. Evenly sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over the pumpkin butter.
3. Starting with short side of the rectangle, roll up into a log. Using string, dental floss, or a serrated knife, cut the roll into 10 slices. Place slices, cut side down, in a greased 8 x 8 baking dish.
4. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cinnamon rolls cool in pan for 5 minutes.
5. While the cinnamon rolls are cooling, make the cream cheese frosting. In a medium bowl, stir together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Whisk in the confectioner's sugar, vanilla, and milk. If the frosting is still too thick, add a little more milk and whisk until smooth.
6. Spread frosting over cinnamon rolls and serve! I always have leftover frosting, but use as much as you like:)

Note-if you can't find the Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations refrigerated seamless dough sheet you can use regular Pillsbury crescent rolls. Just press the dough together to form a large rectangular sheet. I use Trader Joe's pumpkin butter, but you can use any brand or make your own.

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Cheater Chicken & Dumplings

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Ingredients:

• a rotisserie chicken. Almost every grocery store has them hot nowadays... just waiting for you
• a box of low-sodium chicken broth
• 2/3 - 1 cup evaporated milk in the can
• 3 Tbsp butter
• a can of biscuits - doesn't matter what kind
• salt, pepper, poultry seasoning
• flour
• a few sprigs of thyme for garnish (optional)

Method:

1. When you get home, strip the meat from the carcass of the rotisserie chicken. Cover the meat in a bowl, and throw the carcass into a pot covered with the chicken broth and water to cover the chicken. Season the water with salt, pepper, and a little poultry seasoning. Get that on first and let your broth "build" flavor while you go about your afternoon business - putting up groceries, checking homework, getting hugs and kisses, etc.
2. I let it boil for about an hour and a half to extract the flavor out of the bones, skin, etc. Using the parts that you would have thrown away (skin, bones) to make the broth really stretches the buck out of that $5/6 dollar chicken!! If you want, you can add a few sprigs of fresh thyme. Just throw them in whole. The little tender leaves will separate from the stems, which you can fish out later. (You could also do this part ahead of time and have the broth ready in the fridge when you get home.)
3. For the dumplings, liberally sprinkle your work surface with all purpose flour. Arrange the biscuits on the flour. Sprinkle the biscuits with a mixture of salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning. It may seem odd to you that I season the dough, but this ensures that I have seasoning at every level of the dish.
4. Roll them dumplings out very thin (larger than my hand) and make easy work of cutting them by rolling over them with a pizza wheel. I often let the kids help me roll out and cut the dumplings. Don't worry if they aren't all the same. Again - who cares? You are spending time together and they are learning skills and having fun. Period. Keep it all in perspective. Gather up the dumpling pieces with the flour and set them to rest in a plate. The more flour you pick up with them, the thicker your final broth, so adjust according to the preferences of your family/guests. (You could also make these dumplings ahead of time and put them in the fridge.)
5. After the broth has "developed," remove all pieces and parts of the carcass with a spider or by using a strainer.
6. Bring the broth to a boil and add the dumplings. At first, they will puff up and get super fluffy. Don't worry. They won't stay that way. Add the butter and evaporated milk and give them a good few stirs. Let them cook on about a medium to medium high boil for about 15 minutes. The dumplings will thin out and drop down, and the broth will thicken. It's like magic.
7. Now, you can turn off the heat (or turn to low heat) and add in the cooked, rotisserie chicken. At this point, we have done very little real "work" and have thick creamy broth and tender dumplings. Adding the chicken back at the end ensures that it won't be overcooked and dry.. and also that it won't break up into sheds (we prefer nice healthy hunks of chicken).
8. Serve to some people you love.. and stay dry and cozy. Enjoy family time. 

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