Scones of thanks....

So when your BFF is recently married and they are in the process of buying their first house AND it’s Thanksgiving there is a lot and I mean a lot to be thankful for. So when Gigi said she wanted some scones how could I deny her that. Now I played it off like oh hmmm yea that sounds good. All the while I was going over what I had at home to make scones with. BINGO! I have everything I need.

To keep with the theme things I am thankful for, I wanted to show her just a smidge of how thankful I am to have her in my life. I found the perfect basic scone recipe.

I made these little gems smeared them with the raspberry jam that I made. ME!! I MADE JAM!! Oh and I made some with Nutella because if you are going to splurge it should be worth it and Nutella makes any splurge worth it! I could be wrong but probably not! Ahaha!

My plan was to bake these and leave them on her doorstep to find when she got home. BUT time got away from me and the pouring rain here in MI had me in a “I’d like to stay in my pajamas all day mood”. So what I did was I wrapped them up and left them by her back door with a note. I wanted to take a pic for you guys of me sneaking up there but again it was pouring rain and I was trying to be sneaky. I left the scones and sent her a text saying I left her something outside her back door. HA!

You know I am sure we all have a lot to be thankful for, I can say there are so many days that go by I forget about some of these things. It happens. But moments happen when you are reminded of how truly great life can be if you just let it.

So with that being said I am so truly thankful for everything I have and everyone in my life. I am even thankful that at this very moment my coffee cup is empty because I really don’t need any more caffeine! Ahaha!

Make these scones for someone to show them how thankful you are that they are in your life. Oh heck make them for yourself because you can and be thankful you had all the ingredients! aha!

Enjoy! Keep on Making Stuff!!


Glazed Raspberry Scones(click here for the original recipe):
  2 cups all purpose flour

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons whipping cream
• 1/3 cup (about) raspberry jam (do not use seedless)

Glaze

•  1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon rose water (optional)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in large bowl. Add butter; rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles fine meal. Gradually add 1 cup cream, mixing until dough comes together. Turn dough out onto sheet of foil; pat to 1/2-inch thickness. Using 3-inch heart-shaped or round cookie cutter, cut out scones. Gather scraps; pat to 1/2-inch thickness and cut out additional scones. Using floured knife, start at point of each heart and cut horizontally halfway through scones; fill with 1 generous teaspoon jam (jam will show at edges). Transfer to baking sheet. Bake scones until brown, about 18 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool scones until slightly warm.

Meanwhile, mix powdered sugar, remaining 3 tablespoons cream, and rose water in bowl to blend. Spread glaze over scones. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

This is Gigi and I on her wedding day....isn't she the prettiest BFF ever!

How to freeze soup and save space

You know how your freezer gets full of plastic containers...well whatever mine does. One day I was determined to come up with a way to make room.

I took my handy freezer bag filled it with my soup then laid it inside a baking dish. I did this until all my soup was bagged up.

Then I took the dish and put the entire thing in the freezer until all the soup was frozen! Fan freaking tastic!!!

Once it was frozen I took it out of the pan and neatly stacked it in my freezer. It took up 1/4 of the space a bunch of containers would have.

Moral of the story is you must make soup or anything that will lay flat in a freezer bag and try this you will love it!!

Enjoy and Keep on Making Stuff!!



Here's a pic of my tomato basil soup before going into the freezer! Love!!

Banana Pumpkin Bread and a little update on me

Oh hey! I’ve been gone for a few. You see my office moved a hour away, it was summertime.

So much has happened since my last post. An update would take way too long so let me just say this summer was filled with fun, friends, love and happiness!!

Back to the reason we came here…..FOOD!!

The best thing about fall cooking is pumpkin. I love pumpkin anything.

I had these bananas waiting so patiently for me to eat them and I just couldn’t so I did what any responsible person would do. I found something delish to bake them in so they wouldn’t go to waste! DUH!

Being early November I have been dying to bake/make something to eat with pumpkin. So on my search for a new banana recipe I found this on one of my fav blogs! If you are watching your weight or just trying to eat right then this recipe is right up your alley. I am have made so many recipes from this site we would be here all day if I went on about how awesome and delicious everything is!

Best thing is if you are on WEIGHT WATCHERS this has the calorie break down AND she shows the points per slice. HI SHE MADE IT SO EASY!! So if you are keeping your mind right and your body tight browse this site you will love it!! Gina is a gift from the yummy food gods!!

OH OH!! So I mashed the banana then I added the pureed pumpkin, tossed in my pumpkin spice and the brown sugar. Let’s just say this mixture could be eaten by itself. Holy cow! SO GOOD!! Almost like a pumpkin butter. Ok sorry I got side tracked day dreaming about it on vanilla bean ice cream!

This is right from the site, I followed it exactly, no modifications for a change!

Enjoy and Keep on Making Stuff!!

Pumpkin Banana Bread
From Skinny Taste.com

Pumpkin Banana Nut Bread
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 12 slices (1 loaf) • Serving Size: 1 slice • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 3 pts
Calories: 146.5 • Fat: 2.7 g • Carb: 33.3 g • Fiber: 1.6 g • Protein: 2.7 g
Ingredients: 
Pam baking spray
3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves*
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg*
3 very ripe medium bananas, mashed
1/2 cup pureed pumpkin
2 tbsp butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar, unpacked
1 large egg white
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional, 5 pts+ per slice if using)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325°. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan with baking spray.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, pumpkin spice and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add egg whites, egg, bananas, pumpkin and vanilla, and beat at medium speed until thick. Scrape down sides of the bowl.
Add flour mixture and nuts (if using), then blend at low speed until combined. Do not over mix.
Pour batter into loaf pan and bake on the center rack for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the pan cool at least 20 minutes, bread should be room temperature before slicing.
* 1 tsp of pumpkin spice can be substituted for cloves and nutmeg.