Pink Lunch Set

 
I got a new bandana for my lunch.  It matches the bag mom got me for my birthday.

Lavender

Pork chops

Pan seared pork chops with fresh rosemary, wild rice, and broccoli salad.

Happy Birthday

And a very merry un-birthday to you.

Buttonbush

Buttonbush is a native Ohio plant. It grows in swampy areas and attracts butterflies. It blooms in July and August.

Wilderness Cookies

Unfortunately all animals are brown. All of them.

My Favorite Sugar Cookie Dough

Seriously NO FAIL cookie dough. Thank you Williams-Sonoma.

• 2 1/2 cups (390g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks/185g) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup (250g) sugar
• Food coloring gel (optional)
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Over a small bowl, sift together the flour and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter on high speed for 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium, slowly add the sugar and a few drops of food coloring gel and beat for 2 minutes, stopping the mixture occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for 1 minute, stopping the mixer once to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Stop the mixer and add half of the flour mixture. Beat on low speed until most of the flour has been absorbed. Add the remaining flour and continue beating until all of the flour has been absorbed and the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, 2 to 3 minutes.
Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide into 2 equal balls, Shape each into a disk and wrap separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 2 days. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand for 5 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 3/16 to 1/4 inch (4.5 to 6mm).
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.
Dip cookie cutters into flour just before using and cut out shapes. Place on the baking sheet. Gather up the scraps, reroll them and cut out additional cookies. Refrigerate the cookies until firm 20 to 30 minutes.
Bake the cookies until golden brown around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. If baking more than one sheet at a time, switch the sheets between the racks and rotate them 180 degrees halfway through baking.
Transfer the parchment sheets with cookies onto wire racks and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies directly onto the racks and let cool completely. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Makes 34 to 30 cookies, depending on the size.

Refrigerator Doughnuts

1 Tube refrigerator biscuits
1 cookie cutter
1 cast iron pan
some cooking oil

Unwrap your refrigerator biscuits CAREFULLY.  Cut a hole in each one.  Heat cooking oil in cast iron pan.  Cook each doughnut for about 30-45 seconds per side.  Shake in a brown paper lunch bag with cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar or dip in chocolate. OMG! THANK YOU PINTERST!

Peach Cobbler

1 stick unsalted butter	1 C. all purpose flour	2 C. sugar, divided
1 Tb. baking powder	pinch of salt	1 C. milk
4 C. fresh sliced peaches	1 Tb. lemon juice	cinnamon, nutmeg

Melt butter in 9x13 pan. In mixing bowl, combine 1 C. sugar, baking powder, salt, and milk, stirring just until moist. It will still be lumpy. Pour batter over buttered dish. In a sauce pan bring1 C. sugar, lemon juice, and peach slices to a boil. Pour peach syrup over batter. Do not stir. Sprinkle casserole with cinnamon and nutmeg if desired.

Bale 375* for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown.

How to peel peaches

Reminder

Pitcher Plant

Spinach artichoke tortellini

Boil your Refrigerator tortellini according to package instructions (Mine took 2 minutes, no joke). Top your pasta with leftover spinach artichoke dip. Call it gourmet?

Cabbage Moth

Oh No! My brussel sprouts have been ravaged by the mighty cabbage moth.

Honey Candy

1/2 cup of honey
2 cups of sugar
1 tbs of white vinegar
1/4 cup of water

Bring to a boil in sauce pan. Once sugar has reached hard crack stage 300*, remove from heat and pour into molds. Allow to cool before moving.  I pressed shapes into powdered sugar for a candy mold, but the plastic Wilton molds would work just fine.

Tzatziki Sauce

17 oz. Fage Greek yogurt, plain

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, shredded (use cheese grater)
Pinch kosher salt
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

After shredding cucumber, squeeze as much moisture as possible out with a tea towel. Place cucumber pulp and remaining ingredients in the yogurt and give it a stir.  Chill and serve with gyros.

DIY Powdered Sugar

 

1 C. granulated sugar

1 Tbs. corn starch

Blend at High speed in your vitamix blender for 30-45 seconds until light and fluffy.  It will be warm after blending.  The corn starch keeps the sugar from clumping.  Buying powdered sugar from the store costs about 3 times as much as granulated.  Make your own and save.

Cinnamon Scone

We stopped at Panera Bread this last weekend to get a refreshing beverage with our gift cards, when a delightful cinnamon scone caught our eye.  It was good, but I feel like I could do better.  I didn't like the way it sat in my stomach like a bad pancake.  These should be much better because they are made without whipping cream, palm kernel oil, or lard.

3 1/4 C all-purpose flour
1/3 C sugar
2 1/2 tsp, baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp.cinnamon
3/4 cup cold butter, cubed
1 C buttermilk
1 package (10 ounces) cinnamon baking chips
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 Tbs. decorative sugar
cinnamon for topping

In a large bowl, combine the flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in buttermilk just until moistened. Fold in chips.
Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead gently 10-12 times or until dough is no longer sticky. Divide in half; gently pat or roll each portion into a 7-in. circle. Brush with butter and sprinkle with remaining sugar.
Cut each circle into six wedges. Separate wedges and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 10-13 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm. Yield: 1 dozen.

DIY Marachino Cherries

2 lbs cherries
2 C. sugar
1 C. pomegranate juice
1 C. orange juice
lemon juice

Wash and pit your cherries.  In a sauce pan, dissolve sugar in orange and pomegranate juice over medium heat. Add 3 squirts of lemon juice (1/4 C ?). Add cherries to sauce pan, cooking only long enough for cherries to release some juice.  Remove from heat and begin canning procedures.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

2 14oz cans quartered artichoke hearts in water
7 oz no longer frozen spinach  (because that's how much I had)
1/4 C. Kraft mayonnaise
1/4 C. sour cream
1 C. Kraft Italian cheese blend
1 C. Kraft Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder
red pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika

Drain and rinse artichokes and spinach. Make sure they are dry or this will get all watery and gross.

In your first bowl, combine paprika and cheese blend. Set aside.

In a second bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream and Parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder until well mixed. Gently add artichokes and spinach.  Press mixture into 8x8 casserole (or 4 C round).  Sprinkle casserole with red pepper to taste. Top with cheese blend.  Bake 350* for 15-20 minutes. Serve with toasted bread rounds.

Popcorn

• Yellow is a smaller butterfly popcorn variety with a toasty flavor and medium kernel expansion.

• White is a smaller kernel popcorn than the yellow variety, though it puffs up significantly and is extra fluffy and crisp. It has a mild corn flavor.

• Ruby Red is a smaller kernel popcorn but when cooked it bursts into big fluffy puffs. The popped corn is white with red hull specks and has a rich, nutty flavor.

Pork Chops and Apples

Pork chops need to be cooked to an internal temperature of 145*

Peel and slice apples into bite size chunks. Sprinkle apples with cinnamon and sugar.  Microwave for 6 minutes until just barely soft.

Better Than Canned Salsa

2 fresh jalapenos
1 bunch fresh cilantro leaves
1 clove garlic
1 banana pepper
1 lime, juice 

1 can diced tomatoes

salt and pepper

Directions

Put everything but the tomatoes in a food processor. Chop until diced. Add the tomatoes and pulse gently. Serve with chips.

Honey Bee

Pocket AIO, fold over elastic

Steak

Chocolate Ganache

• 12 ounces chocolate, chopped into small pieces
• 1 cup heavy cream
• optional 1 tsp. extract/liquor

Place chocolate pieces in a large bowl. Heat heavy cream on medium high until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and immediately pour cream over chocolate and stir until completely mixed and glossy. Allow ganache to cool before pouring over cakes as a glaze.

If you want to use the ganache for piping (like the edges), stick it in the refrigerator so it gets slighly firm. Use your hand mixer to whip it up.   When you are able to spoon the ganache and it can hold its texture, it is ready for piping.