lemons and recipes

my lemons are full grown and picked!

for those new to my blog, i have been a bit obsessed with the indoor lemon tree my husband gave me for christmas 2010.

after about 8 months on the branch, i picked my lemons - it really is the small things people!

now, who has a great lemon centered recipe for me to try???

fudge and frosting

i got it in my head the other day that i wanted to make fudge. there are so many recipes floating around - i even thought for a while about making root beer float fudge, but none of the 3 grocery stores in my area stocked root beer concentrate. instead i settled on plain old white chocolate fudge and used this recipe. OMG - this is super addicting. i have made it twice now and the family loves it. i added the little ball sprinkles to the top for some color, but i actually like the addition of a small crunch, so i think i will always use them. the first time around, i used regular sour cream and the second time, i used reduced fat. while still good, i could tell a difference and prefer the regular sour cream better. the directions say 5 minutes, but i used a candy thermometer and both times, it took me 6 minutes to get the mix to the correct temperature.

now i just have to figure out how to add flavors to this, like, peanut butter - yum!

tomatoes and feta

my go to recipe these days is a super simple tomato feta dip. i got the recipe from a friend and it is delicious, and did i mention super simple!!!

1 container of grape tomatoes, diced
1 container of crumbled feta
half a red onion, diced
oregano

mix all the ingredients together and it's done. the dip is better if it sits for a few hours before you eat. i usually eat it with crackers, but i got a bit crazy the other night and heated it up on some toast which was also great.

enjoy!

a valentine and tulips

my love knows me well. instead of roses on valentines day, i much prefer simpler flowers such as plain white daisies or beautiful tulips. what is your flower of choice???

i am enjoying a very relaxing day around the house. currently i have this cooking in the oven and it smells oh, so good!

happy valentines day!

soft and simple sheet APRON

i'm so excited to announce my latest tutorial - the soft and simple sheet APRON! vintage sheets are a weakness of mine and for a while now, i have wanted to create an apron pattern utilizing their beauty. i typically find sheets at estate sales and most of them have the prettiest trim along their top edge, not to mention they are so very soft! you can also use a pillowcase for this pattern, however you will need to piece together the length of the apron tie. also note that the fold of the pillowcase is often very worn and this will run down the center of your apron.

to get started, simply click here to download an instructional pdf. i would love to see what you have made, so after your apron is complete, head over to the flickr group i have created to showcase your work!

*this is my first time creating a flickr group, so please let me know if something isn't right. thx :)

first starts and treats

the munchkins started school yesterday and it began with a rocky start. swimmer's ear and some general first day jitters had us ushering crying kids into the car headed to our elementary school. good news is that i picked up happy and very chatty kids (on the golf cart of course) from school at 2:30. i can hardly believe i am the mom to a kindergartner and a second grader.

my first day of school treat for them was a giant cupcake. it's such a funny mold, i needed to give it a try. there were a few issues since i was using a gluten free cake mix, but in the end, it all turned out. the icing on the cupcake was seeing the grins on my little boys faces when they saw what their treat was!

recipes and lost treasures

yesterday, the girls and i packed up for a mini road trip headed to an estate sale in hogansville, ga. this little town is about 40 minutes from our house and is one of those places you pass on your way to somewhere. but not this time, this time, we stopped and i am so happy we did. the town is so quaint with a half dozen antique stores, a quilting shop, and a children's theater amongst other main street america staples.

but on to the estate sale. some people get really creeped out by estate sales, but i love them, i love going into someone elses home and seeing how they lived. i rarely feel sad for the person who once lived there because i know that what i buy will be loved and integrated into my own home. which brings me to the recipe box above. for $2, i bought this woman's cherished family recipes. seriously, how can her children have given this up??? now, possibly she was an awful cook, but if you are a bad cook, would you really go far enough to keep this detailed of a box with hand written additions and subtractions for getting the recipe absolutely perfect?

on quick glance, my favorite quirky recipe is this...

forgotten cookies

• preheat oven to 350 degrees
• beat 2 egg whites stiff
• add 2/3 cup sugar
• fold in small bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1 cup nuts
• drop on foil lined cookie sheets
• put in oven and turn oven off
• do not open door until 8 hours later

i have no experience with this recipe which may in fact be awful, just thought i would pass this little gem on to you all. and if you happen upon a 50 year old recipe box in your travels, and come across the term "oleo", don't fear, it is only another word for margarine - who knew ;)

cakes and craziness

just stopping by to say hi. we have had a few birthdays lately and some general craziness of schedules, along with much needed pool time. with all that is going on, i am finding it very hard to get the things that i have to do, done. but after all, isn't that what summer is for???

strawberries and spring

have you guys seen the price of strawberries lately? my husband was explaining the gulf coast strawberry crisis to me - something about the cold weather so they thought they would lose their crop, so they over watered and ended up with a surplus of strawberries. which means that they are a little over a dollar in the grocery store. no joke, i came home with 4 quarts for $5.

which meant i needed to change my easter dessert choice. i made this strawberry pie and it was a HUGE hit. the recipe says it makes enough for 2 pies, but it was definitely only enough for one. such an easy desserts which tastes like spring. it will definitely be made again :)

and time goes on

i can't believe my youngest munchin is 5 tomorrow! shortly, we are headed to the local jumpy place for his party and the house is full of excitement. i must admit that i like the planning part of the parties rather than the parties themselves. i typically go crazy with cakes - i love making (or attempting to make) crazy cakes for them. this year, after much searching with the youngest, we decided to have a campfire party. i found the cake instructions on familyfun.com and the cake was pretty easy to make. and i am sure the kids won't mind all the frosting i had to use to cover up my mistakes. seriously, this cake is loaded with frosting! the recipe calls for pound cakes, because they are really dense and easier to stack, but i cut a 13x9 cake in half and doubled it up for each log.

as part of the goodie bags, i loaded the kids up with sugar in the form of smores kits. i simply filled clear bags with 2 graham crackers, one hershey bar and a handful of marshmallows.

in addition to the smores bags, i ordered mini flashlights, glow in the dark bugs and campfire sticker scenes to put in each bag.

love party planning and pulling everything together. my only wish is that my boys birthdays were in the summer so i could have the parties at my house and really go crazy!

what was your favorite birthday party from when you were little?

cupcakes and friends

tonight is my annual ornament exchange party with 4 of my favorite people. we each make homemade ornaments and then walk away with 4 new ones. it is a great tradition and a lot of fun to see what everyone has made. however, it is best kept small so you don't get overwhelmed with ornaments as the years pass.

i made caramel banana cupcakes for dessert, but they looked so good, i had to try one early. i found the recipe in an old rachel ray magazine. often, i am leery of magazine recipes, at least half of what i try to make turns out awful - still not sure if that is due to my lack of cooking skills, or that no one at the mag actually ever tested the recipe. this one was a pleasant surprise, they are delicious. be warned that they do take a long time too make - more than the allotted 40 minutes and you might not want to eat many when you know how much fatty ingredients are involved!

warm weather and delicious smells

when springtime rolls around, i want to start cooking again, probably because most of my favorite means go better with warm weather. one such meal is my mom's simple recipe for quiche lorraine and a spinach salad. i wish you could smell this through your computer, it is so yummy!

quiche lorraine
1 pkg pie crust mix
1/2 lb sliced bacon
1-1/2 cups (6oz) grated swiss cheese
1 small onion, minced
3 eggs, well beaten
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
dash of cayenne
1/2 tsp powdered mustard

instructions
line a 9-inch pie or quiche pan with the pie crust. cook 1 slice of bacon on stove until limp. cut into 1" pieces and set aside. cook remaining bacon until crisp. drain and crumble into prepared pie crust. sprinkle swiss cheese over bacon. saute onion in some of the left over bacon fat until golden. drain and sprinkle over cheese. beat remaining 7 ingredients and pour mixture into the pan. sprinkle reserved bacon pieces over top for decoration.

bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until firm and browned.

that's it! enjoy.

thumbprints and icing

i have been searching for a good thumb print cookie recipe for years and have finally found one! i made alicia's thumb print cookies today and they are terrific. i used powdered sugar icing instead of the raspberry jam the recipe calls for. now i just need a good, not too dry, cut-out sugar cookie recipe. anyone?

ornaments and hot chocolate

my girl friends and i have been getting together once a month to hang out and be silly. this month, i hosted a handmade ornament exchange and i hope it becomes an annual tradition. the group includes all levels of creative talent and i think all the ornaments turned out amazing. plus i am shocked we got such a great photo of the 5 of us! thanks honey :)

if anyone is interested in the stockings in the background. email me and i will get you in line for my 2009 holiday orders. i will post more detailed photos of them soon.

since it is the holiday season, i thought peppermint hot chocolate would be a great drink instead of wine. i used milk, hot chocolate mix and peppermint schnapps – they were so good! i think i will be having this every evening until christmas.

pumpkins and red velvet

i was chatting with my friend jessica today about favorite recipes. i thought with the holidays coming up, this would be a good time to post my 2 favorite dessert recipes.

the first is a 4 layer pumpkin cake from kraft. this is so easy to make and the frosting is so light that you don't feel like you are slipping into a sugar coma with your first bite. it is quickly becoming a holiday tradition. i have never been a fan of pumpkin pie and this is the perfect replacement. even my cynical brother (wink wink) approves.

the second dessert is a party table favorite. red velvet cake balls from bakerella. i have never had anything like these little balls, they are so delicious. plus their size is reminiscent of candy bar mini bites. for the holidays, you could use white chocolate and then drizzle red or green colored chocolate over the top. they are time consuming and messy, but are truly easy to make.

enjoy!